My Future King's Squire
by Himitsu no Tokumei
Summary: AU Takouji. Takuya, a poor farm boy, gets recruited to the Royal Knight's Academy because of his skill with a sword. There he meets the twin Princes, Kouichi and Kouji. Full summary inside.
1. Prologue: Arrival

Summary: Takuya comes from a very (and I mean **very**) poor family. They are about to lose the small bit of land they own, so Takuya and Shinya go to the Knight recruiters. Shinya will be a serving boy to earn money, and Takuya will take his 'way with steel' to try and become a Knight. his will also keep the two in one place while their parents try to find a new home. When Takuya gets recruited for the Royal Knight's Academy, a school high class people pay to send their kids to, and he meets the twin Princes Kouichi and Kouji, his entire life changes. And what is it that makes him so good with a sword?

This is a Takouji fic. That means yaoi. That means boyxboy pairing. Also contains other yaoi pairings.

**Edit:** When I was talking to someone in PMs I realized that I put a note on my profile that I didn't put in this story. Some setting inspiration for this story came from **Mages and Knights** by **Universal Laughter**. I also got some inspiration from the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce. Amazing books, btw.

**I do not own Digimon :'(**

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**Prologue: Arrival**

Red-brown eyes stared at the huge structure of wood and stone. The uniform he had been given hung loosely on his slim frame. It was a simple combination of blue and grey. The undershirt was sleeveless and entirely grey except for two strips of blue, one on either shoulder, running from the neck to where the sleeve cut off. The jacket over it was similar, except the strips met in the back and fell in a third, wider stripe down the back, covering a little over half of the grey material. The pants (similar in style to our cargo pants, just with less pockets) held no blue, and covered most of the black boots h wore. In a bag at his side he held the only possessions he had. A green hat and a pair of goggles he found when he was six. Some Mage or Enchanter must have dropped them at one point, and their loss was his gain. A special pair of deer hide gloves he made and was allowed to keep. And, it also contained his only pair of clothes, faded, yellow shirt, worn, red jacket with most of the sleeves missing, and a pair of pants long since too small for him. Looking at the fortress-like building again, he could barely believe how they got there.

_"You did highly well," the man behind the impromptu desk stated. "Those trainees are meant to test you. You're not supposed to win." He scribbled a few things on the paper in front of him._

_ "I'm sorry, sir," the brunette apologized, diverting his gaze to the ground._

_ "No, no, son, that's not a bad thing," the Knight recruiter said, reaching a gauntleted hand across the table and gently patting the fourteen-year-old's shoulder. "That is actually quite good. And with the Duke watching, too!"_

_ "D-Duke?" the teenager squeaked._

_ "Yeah. He told me to send you to the Royal Knight's Academy," the recruiter said._

_ "What? There's no way I can pay for that," the boy stated, shocked._

_ "Not to worry. You are recruited to there, so you don't have to pay."_

_ "Oh? Cool!" he hollered, then suddenly sobered up. "But what about Shinya?"_

_ "Who?" the guy asked._

_ "My little brother, Shinya," the brunette replied. "He signed up for serving duty. Where is he going?"_

_ "I don't handle those," the Knight behind the desk told him._

_ "If Shinya isn't going then neither am I!" the teen yelled._

_ "What are you saying, boy?"_

_ "I'm saying find where Shinya is going and put me there, or transfer him to where I'm going," the teen declared._

_ "I'll try…" the recruiter said unconvincingly._

_ "Try is not good enough! I'm not going if Shinya isn't! I won't break up my family any more than it already is!"_

_ By this time everyone was staring at the farm boy. The Knight saw a nod out of the corner of his eye and sighed. "Okay, we'll transfer your brother…"_

Takuya looked down at his brother and ruffled his hair. "Come on, Shinya," he said, and they took the first step towards their new lives at the Royal Knight's Academy.

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Look forward to **Chapter 1: Royal Knight's Academy** that introduces you to Takuya's life in his new home.


	2. Chapter 1: Royal Knight's Academy

Okay, this chapter is kind of confusing (and sort of similar to **Routine** in **The Assassin and the Clown**, if any of you have been reading that one). It has to do with some of the daily features of Takuya's new life. It also skips about a week and a half in the middle and I did not put in a break. I have a strange set of rules for when to put in breaks, and it was not neccessary there, in my opinion.

**I do not own Digimon :'(**

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**Chapter 1: Royal Knight's Academy**

To say I was nervous would be an understatement. I could not turn around without spotting at least less than seven nobles, some of which were dukes or earls (or their children, to be more accurate, but the concept was the same, and they held the same titles). What did I expect? I got recruited for the most prestigious academy in the Kingdom (though some would say in the world). Most people paid to get their children here for the honor and skills it awarded, but I got in on the skills I already had. And I was extremely out of my element.

For my entire life (all fourteen years of it!) I had lived on a small farm on the western border. We barely grew enough to live on, and my little brother and I often worked for other people to make enough money to pay taxes. So yeah, we were poor. But, despite our money troubles, we still got some sort of education. Some things our mother taught us, others we learned from the people we worked for. Mrs. Nami, who sold flowers, taught us to read and write, along with math. Mr. Jerkin taught me some leatherworking. Shinya was too young to help him, as he was too young to help the blacksmith, Mr. Haroki.

I think Mr. Haroki got me into wanting to be a Knight, and I really took to blacksmithing. I think I was nine when I started working for him. _"You have a way with steel!"_ he would say. Well, I guess he was right. I mean, just look at where I am now! Scared shitless that one of these nobles will learn I'm just a commoner who got lucky.

All around me I could see the differences between low and middle class. They walked smoothly, back straight, chin high, poised. I felt awkward, almost tripping as I stepped because of the trappings on my feet. The cloth covering my body was suffocating, me being used to no shoes and torn rags. I slouched as I walked, eyes normally on the ground out of habit. They had their hair contained, well, except for him, but I doubt anything could contain _that_ mop of brunette hair. I think I heard someone call him 'Your Grace,' so he's a duke, and the blonde next to him called him 'Taichi.' Anyway, _most_ of them had well kept hair, and mine, well… I had cut my own hair with my knife before I went to the recruiter. It frayed out at the back of my neck, but luckily it wasn't in my eyes. Still, it was not fancy or groomed. The final addition would be jewelry. Some of the female students (yes, girls _can_ become Knights too now. The king instigated that seven years ago) had earrings (so did some of the male students) or a necklace, made from gold and enchanted. Selling one of those could feed my family for several years! The only arm or hand jewelry allowed was a single ring, and then, only if you were engaged. So here I was, a simple farm boy who only came to become a Knight because my family was going to lose the farm. Shinya and I would stay in one place while they will try to find a new home.

I sighed and stared up at the sky through the apple tree branches. Lessons wouldn't start for another couple days and we were told to learn as much of the school as possible, being first years and all. I think I had somewhere that the Princes were first years too, though one is going to become a Knight and the other a Mage. I still had a lot of stuff to do, including earn some money to buy some casual clothes to wear on Sunday, our only day off from lessons. I also needed a dress outfit for balls and parties. The kitchen already said I could work on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Shinya said he'd some of what he made too help out. Of course, so long as I paid it all back once I was a braze Knight and earning more than he could even dream of. Still I didn't expect it to be less than a month to earn up enough.

"What, think you're too cool to hang out with the rest of us?" I heard from somewhere above me. Opening my eyes, I saw what could probably be seen as one of the worst case scenarios. Four boys had surrounded me, with the tree at my back acting as an effective fifth member. All of them were taller and stronger than I was, and I could see the third year's pin on the jacket of the one who spoke. I was here for half a day and already attracted the bullies. Well, to be honest, I was surprised it took them this long to approach me. I know I looked different, and what kind of 'noble' would trip over their own feet? "So, kid, what's your name?"

"I'm fourteen," I corrected, even though they had to already know that; I wore the first year's pin, and all first years were fourteen.

"What did you say?" a lanky second year to my right snapped.

"I said I'm not a kid, I'm fourteen," I repeated. My reward was a boot to the stomach. I don't think the chubby leader liked my humor.

"What is your name, _kid?_" he asked before I could recover, emphasizing the 'kid' since he obviously thought I didn't like it. Mentally, I rolled my eyes. Bullies can be so stupid.

"Kanbara," I coughed out, one arm over my aching abdomen. I wasn't really hurt, I mean, I've been worse shoeing horses, but I had to act hurt. And it still did hurt, just not to the degree I showed. I think they bought it.

"Kanbara? Never heard of it," the fat one said. Yeah, I'm just going to call him fat, chubby is too nice. I vaguely wondered how he got to be a third year, and wondered if this school was really all that hard at all. "Guess it can't be very important if _I_ haven't heard of it."

"I bit my tongue to keep back my smart reply. Short tempered as I could be, even I knew when to keep my mouth shut, and maybe my peasant habits still dominated my body for I wouldn't look at him either. That was for the best, though, for I'm sure my glare would have gotten me kicked again.

"My name is Ato Mitatsu," the fat teen said. He took the front of my shirt and lifted me up so our faces were a few inches apart. I could smell his putrid breath. "Don't forget it!" Releasing my shirt, I fell to the ground. After sneering at me for a second, they went on their way, my mind following them with a 'when you're alone in a dark alley…'

Well, I survived my first encounter, pretty much unscathed. I can't really call a kick to the abdomen an injury. Still, I knew the guys were not going to leave me alone.

Standing by using the tree as support (yeah, I'm that lazy), I still had one problem; I had yet to get used to these damn boots! After going my entire life (all fourteen years of it!) without shoes, it was strange to suddenly wear boots, and I still when I walked. I figured it shouldn't take more than a week to get used to it. Once I got that down, I should be able to just slip into the background so people won't bother me.

Taking a step forward, I scuffed the toe of my boot and nearly tripped. Ignoring it, I made my way back inside the walls of the huge fortress, the student's and servant's virtual prison. We were not allowed to leave, even just to the city, without permission, and never alone. I would have to find someone I could trust to tell why I had to go to the city to buy clothes, or create a convincing lie (me, lie convincingly, what a joke!). I also had to kick my silent habit around nobles or I would certainly be found out.

I stopped in front of my room's door. We boarded two to a room, and I had yet to meet my roommate. Maybe I'd get lucky and I could tell my roommate my situation. It was wishful thinking. Opening the door, I felt my heart sink. His crimson eyes glared holes in my skull as I walked in. A scowl was plastered on his overly tanned face, and his deep brown hair was extremely short. "You my roommate?" he asked.

I almost blinked at him stupidly. Why else would I be here? "Yes," was my cool reply. _We are not going to get along,_ my mind sighed.

"This side of the room is mine, that is yours," he said commandingly. "If I find any of your crap even a centimeter on my side, it's mine. The reverse does not apply. No opening the curtains before eight in the morning, and no staying up later than eleven at night. Got it?"

"Yeah," I replied sarcastically, adding in a not-so-sarcastic tone, "Doesn't mean I'm going to follow any of that, though." I know I'm supposed to be shy and submissive, but here I'm supposed to be equal, and he was acting like I'm his servant. Plus the bastard just pissed me off, and no amount of habit would contain it.

"You will follow it," he shot back.

"No, I don't think I will," was my sharp reply. Four, older, stronger, taller bullies could beat me, but I'd be damned if I lost a fight to another first year.

Walking over to me, he grabbed the front of my shirt. I felt sorry for the thing, it was experiencing a lot of abuse today. "Are you sure you won't follow my rules?" he asked, fist poised to strike.

I smirked.

Dean (my roommate) was lucky the bathroom was close to our room. The first and second years have to share hall bathrooms with others of their year, while third through sixth have bathrooms in their rooms. Dean had blood running from his nose. Not profusely, but I was lucky he didn't get any on my cloths. Good thing I rarely lose a one-on-one fight. He got a decent hit on my cheek, though. I had to make it fair and give him the first hit. It was still stinging slightly when he came back, bleeding stopped. He didn't try to enforce his 'rules' again.

Working in the kitchen was pretty easy. We had quickly deduced I could _not_ cook, and was instead set to doing dishes. I had to wash and dry them and stack them in their respective cupboards. I never worked more than three hours a day, six hours a week, (because I would have to have time to keep up with my studies) and made about ten silver pieces a week**(1)**. I needed about three gold pieces to buy the clothes I needed. The other two-hundred-sixty pieces would come from Shinya. He would make about four gold pieces a month. Seventy silver pieces of that would pay for his room and his other seventy would have to cover food. I felt really bad, relying on my brother, but I doubt he would let me refuse.

Shinya was taking the change well. I dried my hands and retrieved my shirt and jacket. Taking them off prevented them from getting dirty as I worked. It had already been over a week since Ato jumped me at that tree. My walking had improved, I didn't trip as I walked or ran (much), but it would take another couple weeks to get my agility back.

Glancing at the wall clock, I sighed. Nine-thirty, I needed to get to Shinya. I came to him every night before bed so I could sing him to sleep, like our mom used to do.

Going down the servant's hall, I couldn't help but marvel at the wall clocks. They were magicked candles. A total of twelve flames, including the candle's own, hovered in a circle around the candle. Each flame represented an hour, and when all were alight it was noon. All out meant midnight had fallen, curfew for first and second years.

Knocking on the door, it was my brother's roommate who greeted me. "Hi, Tomoki," I smiled, placing a gentle hand on his head. He was still nervous around me. I couldn't blame him. He probably felt around me like I felt around my classmates. I was behind in the educational aspects, they all had received more of one from their parents and tutors than I had, after all. My lack of intellect kept the other students off me, though. Because I have been having trouble with my boots (stupid things, why must we wear them?) I was about average with a sword currently, too. The most attention I got was from the fact I knew how to work a forge.

"H-hi, Takuya," the small boy squeaked. His nervousness had died down enough to call me by my first name, at least. He was too scared to speak the first time he saw me, and it took me and Shinya two hours to convince the boy I wasn't a noble. The skill I have to have with a sword to get here, though, does still scare him.

He moved back to his bed and I walked inside, closing the door behind me. The boy on the other bed looked similar to me. Well, he _should_, we _are_ brothers. Neither of us looked all that worn or haggard, having been used to such work back home. I could see several of these noble children wearing down, and already one person had left. I heard that of the two-hundred-thirty (average, by the way) first year students accepted yearly, about sixty will drop out before second year, and only 20 (another average) will be Knighted. The rest will either drop out as well or be given a lower title than Royal Knight.

Sitting on my brother's bed, I pulled the covers up to his lap. "How you been, Shinya?" I asked, gently petting his hair. It's soft, much more so than mine. He _claims_ I have soft hair too, but I don't think it is.

The younger version of me smiled. "It's not too tough a work," my brother replied. "It's not nearly as hard as taking care of Mrs. Mari's cats." We both laughed at that. Those felines were furry terrors.

I smiled at my brother and motioned for him to lie down. Yawning even though it was yet ten o'clock, he obeyed slowly. Putting the sheet up over his body so only his head was peeking out, I sat next to him. As Mom would do, I softly sang our lullaby until I saw my brother's breathing slow, showing his slumber. "Good night, Shinya," I spoke, leaning down and kissing his forehead.

Picking up my sword (the one I forged in class, I had left it by the door. We were required to carry them everywhere), I shot one last smile to Tomoki before I left. That boy tended to stay up later than Shinya, and was usually still awake when I left every night. He didn't seem to be picking on Shinya; actually, they seemed to be coming close friends. _I hope I can find someone I can trust soon,_ I thought, heading back to my room.

My roommate was still awake when I entered, but made no move to recognize I was even there. I didn't care. I couldn't stand the guy. Turns out he was one of the nobles who barely had the money to send him here, so he tried to be more than he was. Kind of reminded me of myself, except I wasn't stuck up. Shrugging off my bag of books and sword on the floor on the left side of my bed (the side farthest from him, I didn't trust him to not go through my stuff), I took a shower and got in bed.

Classes always started at eight. I was up by six. It was habit. I normally didn't run into anyone this early in the morning, and the mess hall was pretty much empty. Of Pages and Squires (Knights-in-training), at least. The Royal Mage's Academy (so original, aren't they?) is connected to the Royal Knight's Academy, and the two share a mess hall, mainly because Mages and Knights take some of the same classes, such as History, so the school was built to allow as much incorporation as possible. Each had separate barracks (or as I like to call them, dorms), but it is allowed to go to the other academy's dorms to meet with friends.

I couldn't help but be intimidated by them. Magic had always scared me, maybe because when I saw someone's magic go out of control when I was seven and they exploded. Literally. Shinya was only four at the time, so he doesn't remember it. Still, every time someone drops a book in the mess hall that makes a loud boom, I flinch.

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**(1)** 100 copper=1 silver, 100 silver=1 gold

I hope you look forward to the next chapter, **Chapter 2: The Mage.**


	3. Chapter 2: The Mage

Chapter 4 is the first one when I start to switch view points, so that chapter will have the view points labeled. But until that chapter, I am too lazy to label them, so just know that lik the last chapter, this one is also Takuya's POV.

And, if you honetsly couldn't tell by the last chapter's hint, there are the other Digidestined in this too. Well, Adventure 01 and 02 at least, I don't really like Tamers (and I didn't watch much of it) so I did not include them.

**I do not own Digimon :'(**

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**Chapter 2: The Mage**

Several people yawned in the midday sun. I personally love Saturday. Not as much as Sunday, which we learned we got off to teach us discipline (teachers aren't always going to be around to tell us what to do, after all, and we had to figure out how to motivate ourselves), but Saturday was still great. It had shorter classes and ended at two instead of at six. Weapons' training was still the same length, but the book classes were shorter. I am actually very proud of how far I had come in them. I hadn't caught up to the other students yet, but I _was_ closing the gap.

Still, it was twelve-thirteen, and twelve-thirteen found me in the training yard with the other first years. My practice sword (just another expense I'd have, I needed to get a real sword. Luckily we'd be using our practice ones for a while) clipped to my belt, I stood off to the side to do my stretches. A couple others sneered at me, and I could practically _hear_ Ato counting my days as he glared at me. The third years were in the training yard next to ours, so Ato could (and did) keep a good eye on me.

Ato Mitatsu. I can't say the name without venom. I could probably take him, but that would draw too much attention so I always just run. The one month I've been here I seem to have become his favorite. I almost have to peer around every corner _while_ keeping an eye on my back just to avoid him. Running and hiding might not be helping, but it keeps me from getting beat up (when he has others with him) or noticed, and my build (and lack of dirt-o-phobia all nobles seem to have) allowed me to squeeze into small hiding places.

The instructor yelled something, snapping my attention back to my own class. We all lined up in front of him, feet together, back straight, eyes forward, arms at our sides. It was very uncomfortable I might add, but had learned better than to relax once he'd passed me during my first week. "We are having some tests today!" he yelled. "The first one is endurance! You will run until you can't run anymore, jog until you can't jog anymore, then walk to where I am! Those who last the full thirty minutes, well, you'll be able to say you did! Skirt the training yard! Begin!"

Running for thirty minutes is harder than it seems. I had to make sure to keep my pace high, but not too high. I wanted to run, not burn my energy to a crisp. A couple people didn't even make it one lap before they slowed to a jog. The training yard was pretty big, though, taking me a full five minutes to run around it once. By the end of the third lap most people had dropped back to a jog. A few people were still running. The blonde with blue eyes could drop off soon. He might last one more lap, but he would most likely drop back so he didn't fall out completely in the next fifteen minutes. The midnight-haired boy next to him (his hair is a really dark blue, like midnight, where it seems black until the moonlight hits the sky just right to show that the blue does still exist within that expanse) normally lasted as long as I did. Well, I really shouldn't be calling him 'a boy.' Everyone knows him. Who wouldn't know Prince Kouji Minamoto? The blonde, I think his name is Takeru, is one of the people considered his friend. The brunette they normally hang out with fell back close to the end of that lap, and the tree others still with us were no people of outstanding character. Hell, the only reason I remembered Takeru was because he was constantly with the Prince.

Passing the halfway point, I realized it was only me and Kouji again. I honestly get really nervous at this point, seeing as to how I have trouble around a _noble_, let alone the Prince. Seeing the end of the fourth lap draw near, I slipped back early, into the crowd of people we were passing that were a good lap or two behind us. Jogging instead of running was refreshing, too, though I think the instructor realized I could have gone farther. By falling back, though, I put a good half the course between me and him.

A shrill noise broke through the air, signaling the end of the thirty minutes. "Good job, Kouji," I heard several people say. I was just like those other three, a person who did well, but wasn't noticed. A part of me felt really bad because of that, but it wasn't a very big part. I needed to get through this school without drawing attention to myself.

Once everyone was gathered, the teacher spoke again. "Everyone had better get a quick drink, for you're sparring in five minutes, two pairs at a time so I can watch! First up is Kouji and Shinichi, Daisuke and Shugo (**A/N:** their opponents are completely made up names that mean nothing to the story at all)! Meet back here! Dismissed!" Sometimes I thought the teacher yelled unnecessarily.

I was one of the first to get a drink, since I already knew what the teacher would say and purposely stood close to the refreshments. I was also the first to the training yard, sighing as I sat down. I really didn't like sparring matched. I always had to lie about my skill so I didn't draw attention (yes, I know I reiterate that point a lot…). But, lying like that always left a bad taste in my mouth.

"Grab your practice swords, boys!" the instructor yelled. I watched Kouji walk up to his place, and gulped in relief. I was glad I didn't have to fight him. For one, he scared me, like, really bad. For two, He's actually pretty good, so getting beaten by him (or beating him), or even holding some ground against him would draw attention to myself. I had actually learned a bit from watching him. My personal style (which we were all encouraged to find) involved using my entire body, feet, hands, head even, if my opponent got close enough, and a bunch of flourishes many saw as foolish or unnecessary. In truth, they were to distract my opponent, but some were… dangerous. In the one month I had been here, I been here I had made an enemy f the biggest bully (for doing absolutely nothing, I might add!), made no friends, and improved the efficiency of my sword style. Wonder why I don't feel satisfied. Note the sarcasm.

Shinichi didn't stand a chance. Kouji took him out pretty quickly. Shugo lasted slightly longer than the light-haired Shinichi, but was still quickly dispatched by Daisuke. All four boys were directed to areas of mistake before the next two pairs were called. Some were as quickly done as Kouji's while others lasted for several minutes. It looked like it would be two-thirty three o'clock before we got out again.

"Takuya, Ryu, left!" I head him call, and I grudgingly stood from my comfortable seat. At least I got paired with one of the decently good guys so my fake-defeat would go over well. I hated getting picked with one of the bad swordsmen (or would it be swordsboys?) because then I had to beat them.

At his command, I took the proper stance. "Begin!" was all the warning I had to Ryu's attack, but it was more than I needed. In a proper defensive form, I brought my sword up and parried the simple down cut, pushing a slight amount to send him back a step. Taking the offensive, I brought my sword to his side, hearing the clang of metal on metal as he blocked. Taking a step back, I withdrew my attack and trust forward. Ryu skipped back and we both went defensive again.

Ryu attacked again, a straight forward thrust just like mine a second ago. When I hit his sword wide, he followed it in a spin that brought his blunt blade to my other side. He's get scolded for that later, I knew. I had a good second or two where his back was completely open, had I exploited that. I'd probably get berated for ignoring it. His sword screeched harshly against mine, both of us stepping away from the other as he heard the teacher tell the other team who was out.

I saw him coming, I really did. But at that very moment I saw Ato out of the corner of my eye, grinning evilly. By the time my attention was back on Ryu, all I could do was stumble back and fall, or block the attack and show my true skill. I chose the stumble.

"Takuya, out!" came the grating noise our teacher called his voice. My opponent pulled his sword back from my neck. I stood and brushed off the seat of my pants, moving dutifully to the teacher's side to be used as an example, like all the others before me. "Ryu, watch the spinning! This is Knight training, not ballet class! You left yourself open and defenseless for long enough o be killed!" He turned to me next. "Takuya, you should have exploited that opening!" See, I told you. "And, keep your eyes on your enemy, not your audience!" I almost said I _was_ watching my enemy, but kept my mouth shut. "You two are dismissed! Next…" I tuned him out then, I didn't need to listen anymore.

I moved, and Ato Mitatsu kept me in sight, that hideous smirk a permanent addition to his face. I almost smirked back, knowing he wouldn't have a chance to corner me today. But, I couldn't let him catch onto my mirth, now could I?

It was two-forty-six when we were finally allowed to leave. Like I always did to avoid my insistent, violent shadow, I slipped into the crowd of other fourteen-year-olds. Ato followed, an evil smirk touching his lips. I have seriously wondered if he is some sadist who is attracted to me, with how dutifully he tails me.

Ducking so he thought I was trying to give him the slip again, I turned down a grand hallway and headed for the large, wooden, double doors. The growl I faintly heard behind me told me Ato had discovered where I'd gone. He wouldn't follow me today, even he wasn't stupid enough to attack me here. Stopping in front of the big doors, I took a deep breath and boldly knocked (showing a lot more courage than I felt, this guy seriously made me feel insignificant).

"Come in," the deep voice boomed, almost startling me. Swallowing nervously, I opened one of the doors just enough to slip through, closing it behind me. "Ah, Takuya," the man greeted me. "Your weapons' training master has given me average marks. Mind explaining?" He cocked an eyebrow at me, as if he already knew my answer and just wanted me to confirm it.

"I'm sorry, Your Grace," I began, bowing my respects. See why I feel so small next to him? "I down tone my skills and pass advantages up because I do not desire to attract attention to myself." He nodded, the small smile revealing his joy I did not degrade myself by saying I was insignificant.

"That is understandable. Does the class benefit you?" the Duke asked.

"Yes, Your Grace," I replied. "My own style is powerful, but not without flaws. The training helps me with the efficiency of my attacks, reducing, limiting, and sometimes removing vulnerabilities." I know I was trying to sound formal, but I hope I was actually successful. I saw the Duke's eyebrows furrow when I called him "Your Grace," but I just could not become accustomed to calling him Hiroaki or Ishida. For one, my dad was also called Hiroaki, so that just left me feeling really awkward, like that time I heard my cousin call my dad Uncle Hiroaki, so I did the same. And Ishida just seemed too informal.

"About your situation," he began, pausing to let me finish.

"I have acquired the necessary funds, I'm pretty sure, to purchase sufficient clothing, and now require permission to go to market," I announced, standing in that uncomfortable position used when standing at attention.

I was not expecting him to laugh. Okay, it was a chuckle, but close enough. "At ease, Takuya," the Duke stated. "No need to speak so formally. You can convey the same message either way, so you might as well be comfortable." He smiled again so I relaxed. "You know you can't go to market alone," he started, "so have you found a companion to take with you yet?"

I shifted from foot to foot, eyes on the ground. "No," I answered. It's not that I hadn't tried, it's just that I didn't want to approach someone until I knew I trust them.

"Well, I know someone who is trustworthy," he stated, my eyes lifting from the floor to look at him. "He is still in class, though, and will be for another three hours. Come back here at six to meet him. Until then, you are dismissed." I turned to leave, walking to the door. "Try not to… 'fall'… again," he said as I left, referring to those few times Ato did catch me.

Grinning before I closed the door, I said, "I'll try." My heart soared. He knew someone I could trust. I could finally have a friend, other than Tomoki and Shinya. Not that I didn't like them, but I would like to have a friend that goes through the same I do to talk about that stuff with.

"Hi, Maria!" I cheerfully greeted as I rushed into the servants hall. She casually waved back (by now all the servants were used to me, and she was one of the few who knew about my situation) before returning to her kitchen work. She still had more work to do, unlike Shinya and Tomoki. This place was kind enough to let the younger servants have weekends off.

I flung my brother's door open, having decided about a week ago I didn't need to knock anymore. Besides, I knew the reason they always asked me to knock anyway. "Eww! Boy cooties!" I childishly teased my brother as he threw Tomoki off himself (and the bed). They hadn't been doing anything bad, only kissing, but both boys had beet red faces. Okay, for the first couple of weeks I was asked to knock because I scared Tomoki. But after that it was because the two had secretly started going out. I was quite shocked, to saw the least, the first time I walked in on them kissing. Now, though, it was a fun game. I honestly didn't care if they were together, so long as Shinya was happy. As our mother used to say, _"You can't help the cards you're dealt with, but you can decide how they are played."_

"T-Takuya!" Shinya yelled, slamming his fists on the bed. "What did you do that for?" Tomoki had sat up by now, but refused to show me how embarrassed he really was.

"The Duke said he knows someone I can trust to go with me to market. I just have o wait for him to get out of class at six," I cheered. "I'm free until then."

"A-and you had to come interrupt us?" Tomoki stuttered, standing up. For being the dominant partner (**A/N:** I don't know why, I just see Tomoki being dominant. Maybe because he was one of the Digidestined and Shinya wasn't, nee?) Tomoki really was more shy than Shinya when it came to getting caught. Maybe it's because I'm his boyfriend's older brother.

"But it's so much fun!" I shouted, smiling.

* * *

Six o'clock (o'candle?) found me again outside the Duke's office. Pushing open the door, I nearly gasped at the midnight-haired boy standing next to him. "Ah, Takuya," he said as I closed the door. "I'd like you to meet Prince Kouichi Minamoto**(1)**. He's a Mage, so his classes went a little later than yours."

My first thought was, _Oh shit! The Prince!_ My second thought, _Oh shit! A Mage!_

* * *

**(1)** I am calling him Minamoto on purpose. I do know that is not his real last name, but he is a Prince, so his parents can't really have a divorce. FYI, he and Kouji also have a brother six years younger than them that has a major purpose later in the story.

Ja ne~


	4. Chapter 3: Market

Okay, I don't have an excuse for the lateness of this chapter. The truth is that I was just lazy. I also just got a DS Lite and I have over 100 hours on my Pokemon Platinum game, which is VERY distracting, and about 40 hours on Dragon Quest IV. So yeah, games took over... I will hopefully do better now that strawberry season has started. By working, I get motivated to do things more active or "work-like" than normal. Anyway, for those of you who might have been afraid I wasn't going to finish, I will say this: If I ever plan to stop writing a fic permenantly, I will type out a summary of what I was planning for the rest of the story, so you aren't left wondering what was going to happen. I hate it when people do that, so I won't. I will also be starting college on July 13, so I might slow down more at that time. Wish me luck!

I have Chapter 4 written up, but have yet to type it. And I tried to pull a "You know you live in the 21 century when" moment in the spiral I'm writting in. I tried to label Chapter 5 as Chapter 6. For those of you who don't get it, look up the email joke.

Enjoy the chapter!

**I do not own Digimon :'(**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Market**

I still can't believe I fainted. Yet, the next thing I remember is waking up on the couch in Duke Ishida's office with a nasty headache and a bump to prove I had. Guess it was too much for my mind to handle and it overloaded.

"That was not the reaction I was expecting," the Duke chuckled as I sat up holding my head. _I don't think he's going to let me forget this. I can beat a third year Page (year one through three is Page, four through six is Squire) just fine with a sword, yet faint at the sight of a first year mage. Okay, I also had the shock of him being a Prince, but… oh shit, I'm feeling dizzy again, _I said to myself. Lying back down, I could not figure out why I put parenthesis in my thoughts. "You okay?" he asked.

I shook my head, arm over my eyes. After a minute passed I sat up again. Looking around the room, I spotted my target shyly hiding in the corner. "Hello," he said quietly.

My own tongue caught in my throat. For seconds they both just stared at me, then Kouichi took a step towards me and I shot back to the other side of the couch.

"What is wrong with you?" Duke Ishida asked, no longer thinking my attitude was funny. "I know you nervous around nobles-" a question mark appeared (not literally) above Kouichi's head "-and I know you have been drilled to no speak to them and avoid them-" two more question marks joined the first "-but your behavior is just rude!"

The very confused Mage took another step towards the couch. "Uh… Did I miss something?" he asked.

"I don't care that he's a noble!" I yelled, feeling the shivers tickle my spine. "I was expecting a noble since that is what all the other people who go here are. I was surprised you chose the Prince, don't be misled, but I could handle that! But why a Mage?"

Silence fell after my little outburst, and only then did I see the hurt expression on Kouichi's face. Damn my conscious, now I was feeling guilty. "I'm sorry," he beat me to it.

"No, I'm sorry," I replied, looking away. "I've just had… My only experience with a Mage was not a pleasant one."

"Then allow me to change your opinion of my class," Kouichi said, smiling and holding one hand up with the pointer finger directed to the ceiling.

The Duke stood suddenly, startling me and confusing the other fourteen-year-old (for being intelligent, he gets confused a lot…). "I have a place I need to be. So, Takuya, I'll leave it up to you to explain your situation. Try to get along." He turned to the door, stopping right before it. Looking back over his shoulder, he added, "Oh, by the way, your trip to Market is scheduled for eight tomorrow. You two can meet up here." Kouichi nodded once as the Duke left, then turned to face me.

"What situation was he talking about?" the Prince asked.

Physically (and mentally) grumbling, I looked away from his prying blue eyes. "He was talking about how I got here," I stated grudgingly. Why did he have to leave it to me to explain it?

Walking over the couch and sitting next to me, he watched me flinch. "I wish you would stop doing that," he sadly said.

"I am really nervous around Mages," I replied. Surprisingly, I felt no embarrassment admitting it. Mages scared me. Period. "My only encounter with one involved their power going out of control and ending… well… less than prettily." I saw him grimace at my vague descriptions.

"That is why we are here, and why we are roomed with someone three years older than we are," Kouichi stated. "I have control over my power so you don't have to worry." His smile was very disarming, and I allowed myself to relax a bit since I felt like I was lined up for sword practice again. "I don't get why it could get out of control like that, though," he continued. "I know ever since I first showed sighs of magic at the age of four I've had someone near me incase something did get out of hand. Was their instructor or guardian away?"

Sighing, I took a deep breath before saying, "And now we're back to the situation. I didn't buy my way into here, I got into here. Let's just say my social class is… less than reputable." My attempt at hinting the problem didn't seem to work.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"I'm a peasant, maybe considered lower, if that's possible. I went to a recruiter because my family was about to lose their home. My skills in fighting got me here," I said nonchalantly, masking my apprehension, fear, and depression, though my tone might have given it clearer definition. Not like I would readily admit it, but I was homesick.

Throwing his arms around me and crying in sympathy, Kouichi sobbed, "I'm sorry Takuya. I'm really sorry."

"Hey, let go," I said, pushing on him to make it harder to hang on. "Come on, stop it. I'm just fine… Besides, it's not your fault."

It took him a minute to calm down. "I'm sorry," he said again. "I guess I just thought it was really sad." He nervously scratched the back of his head.

"It's alright… Your Highness," I muttered the last part apprehensively.

"Oh please, just Kouichi," he replied. "I get 'Your Highness' enough from my enemies to make up for when I don't have my friends say it."

I was taken aback. "Does this mean we're… well… friends, Prince Kouichi?" I tentatively asked.

"Come on, just Kouichi," he repeated. "No 'Prince Kouichi.' And I would like to be your friend."

I did not see a lie in his eyes (I have a talent for recognizing emotions in people's eyes) and I slowly nodded. "I would like that, Your Highness…" I said, the title out of habit.

"Kouichi," he corrected.

"…Kouichi," I sheepishly repeated.

* * *

Sights and smells assaulted my senses. Bright colors flashed in front of my eyes and exotic foods (some of which even _I _didn't want to know what they were) were shoved under my nose. A stand to the left held clothes made in a kingdom halfway around the world, and a second one to the right sported fish native only to the chill waters of the Roof of the World. Several high class noblewomen congregated around one stand and I curiously peeked around them to see gems, jewels, brooches, and crowns (yes, crowns!) marked at prices a thousand times more than the amount I carried on me for simple clothes! I nearly fainted again and began to wonder if I could find clothing for the price I need to find it at.

Crowds pushed and shoved from all angles and directions (so much for nobles being dainty) and I desperately clung to Kouichi's sleeve. He did not seem unused to the bustle, and I was glad Duke Ishida had requested Kouichi go with me. Even if I hadn't gotten lost (which I had, by the way) I don't think I could get through the crowds alone. I had been pushed, poked, prodded, shoved, elbowed, stepped on, and kicked enough times to yearn for sword training class; I got less bruises there.

We stopped at a stand of wrist and arm bands because Kouichi wanted to, and I looked at the prices in horror. If people could afford to throw two-three-hundred gold pieces for a simple ring of the same material then why were there starving orphans hiding in the alleys? One of the said children moved close to the stand, eyeing my new friend's purse, and despite feeling guilty for them, I moved between him and Kouichi. He glared up at me until he realized I was watching him, and then he scampered away. No doubt it was my uniform that scared him, for I knew my eyes were soft.

An elbow in my ribcage brought my mahogany eyes to Kouichi's deep sea blue ones. "Nothing but cheap work here," he said. "Scammers," he explained to my confused expression as we walked away. "It's not real gold."

_Maybe they work with the kids,_ I thought. "You should keep a firmer eye on your purse," I said, causing Kouichi to pause in the middle of the street, which in turn made me stop and the man behind me run into me. _Is he angry at me?_

"What do you mean?" he asked, turning to face me.

"Some kid tried to steal it," I replied, looking down sadly. "He looked really thin…"

"My purse is right here," he said, holding it up. The jingle of coins was harsh on my ears. It would take me and Shinya years to make that much.

"That's because I moved between you and him," came my reply.

His face lit up in a smile. "Really?" he asked. "Than I guess that means I owe you. We can start with lunch. I'm hungry," he said, taking my wrist and dragging me off again.

"Lunch? But it's only eleven. And I don't have the extra gold to spend, Your Hi—Kouichi," I corrected myself. That earned me another smile; I had been having trouble using his name all morning.

"Don't worry about it. My treat," he chimed, pulling me into a covered tent.

"What? I can't have you pay for me," I responded, trying to deter him from the food. I knew if I smelled it (something good, anyway) my stomach would grumble.

"You saved me three-hundred gold pieces, it's the least I can do," he insisted, looking around the enclosure. "Hey, you're right. It is only eleven," he stated, blinking dumbfoundedly and pointing to the candle-clock on the center beam holding up the canvas tent. I forgot to mention it, but there are no clocks outside on the street, something about too many fires. "How did you know?"

"The position of the sun," I replied, pointing up. Another thing I noticed, most nobles couldn't tell time by the sun. "I can also accurately guess time by the moon, though that is a lot harder, and direction from the stars…" I trailed off as I looked over to my companion. He had stars of admiration in his eyes, mouth open in awe and hands clasped together in front of him. "Uh… Kou—ichi (I struggled to say his name without adding 'Prince' or 'Your Highness')?"

"That is so cool!" he yelled enthusiastically. "I can barely tell when it's day or night!"

"K-Kouichi, I think that's a bit of an understatement…" I sighed. Must he be so loud? People were staring and I was really starting to feel uncomfortable.

"Yeah, I know, but you get the point," he replied. My stomach growled at that point and we both burst into laughter after a second of silence. "Right, food," he said, grabbing my wrist and dragging me further in. There were several areas in the tent, and the one we went to was a simple grill, which was good because I had no desire to experiment with strange food. As it was, the grill almost made me sick, and it wasn't only because of the people eating… something… at the table next to ours. The price was outrageous!

I slumped and let my hand fall to where my plate used to be. "I told you I can't afford this…" I mumbled into the table, sighing dejectedly. Three gold pieces for a piece of meat my mother could cook better.

"And I told you I'd pay for it," Kouichi chimed, taking my bill too. I didn't argue, partially because I knew I couldn't win and partially because I only had three gold pieces to spend anyway. Yeah, I was doomed. Kouichi returned and grabbed my wrist again (I get dragged around a lot in this chapter…). "Come on, we came here for a reason, right?" he asked as he dragged me (see, I told you) out of the tent.

I glared from one clothing store to the next and sighed. Too expensive, too tacky, both, too girly, all three; the excuses were endless. I had seriously underestimated the value of gold. "It's hopeless," I whined, collapsing onto the ground.

"Ah, how about here?" he asked, again dragging me along. I groaned as we approached the shop. IT was one of those 'too expensive' labeled stores, though I will admit that I did like the outfits they carried.

"No, this one won't work, Kouichi," I said, having gotten used to (somewhat) using his names with how many times I had to tell him no. "There is no way I can afford this." I think I made that a template by now, with how many times it passed through my mind and over my tongue.

His grin told me he was up to something. "Don't worry about it," he grinned. "I still owe you, right? I'll pay for it, so don't worry about price." Instead of arguing I merely sighed and followed behind him faithfully. He had driven all the fight from me. Another scary thing about Mages, they seem to have endless energy. "First thing you need is a dress outfit," my midnight-haired friend said, leading me to a specific section of the store. He held up a dark outfit, black as his hair, only with the tint of red instead of blue to it. "What do you think of this one?" he asked. I took the cloth gingerly, looking it up and down. The twin coattails reminded me of the aristocracy and knew that despite my upbringing that's how I would look in it. It would work for disguise, but it would damage my pride. I seriously did like it, and that only added to my shame.

"It's fine," I mumbled, almost regretting it immediately.

I was greeted my Kouichi's sympathetic frown when I looked up; I think he knew what was going through my mind. "You'll get used to it," he stated, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. "It's hard to change life-styles, but you're doing just fine. Besides, this is the life you signed up for when you got accepted here. Now, come on. We need to get you some casual clothes."

He would not let me leave until I chose at least one casual outfit. In total it cost him a little over half his gold (and I even chose some of the cheapest stuff there!). I felt really bad and I let him know. "I feel really bad now," I said, Kouichi stopping to look at me. "I mean, I feel like I used you or something."

Kouichi smiled at me. "If you honestly feel like that then it proves you haven't done something wrong," he stated. "Only the just feel guilt, and guilt does not necessarily symbolize misdeed." My slight chuckle, for he was standing up tall like some professor and it looked really funny, made him laugh for a second too. "Words of wisdom from my instructor before I came here. The whole thing also says something along the lines of 'for an unjust man's heart holds no space for such trivialities' but I can never remember the entire spiel. Still, don't worry about it. You refused enough times that had I not wanted to I wouldn't have done it."

Kouichi's smile is infectious, and soon I, too, found myself smiling. "Thanks, Kouichi," I said.

"Hey, it's not a problem! I'm always willing to help a good fri—" I didn't really cut him off, I just saw something that drew my attention and he stopped speaking. I made my way through the crowd to the small, rundown stand and picked up the object of my interest. "What is that?"

"A soccer ball," I replied. "How much?"

"Fifteen silver pieces," the man in rags stated and I sifted through my purse of silver and copper coins for the proper amount.

"Me and my brother used to play this all the time," I explained, walking away with my prize.

Kouichi smiled. "Think I could join you sometime?"

Did I mention Kouichi's smile is infectious?

* * *

Just to make sure no one is thinking this, no, Kouichi is not crushing on Takuya, and Takuya is not crushing on Kouichi. I realized as I was typing it up that it almost seems like it, but the two both have really friendly natures, so it is merely their normal behavior.

Again, sorry for my tardiness. I will try to not skip passed so much time next time.


	5. Chapter 4: Encounter with the ScaryEyed

Okay, first of all, now that it will stay the specified person's point of view even through line breaks unless stated at the top. There will also always be a line break between point of views to make it easier to distinguish.

I do not own 'Takuya's Lullaby.' Proper tribute for it will be in the next chapter. Free invisible Kouji plushie for everyone who can correctly guess both the artist and the song name. Winners will be mentioned at the top of the next chapter.

**I do not own Digimon :'(**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Encounter with the Scary-Eyed Ice Demon**

(Takuya's POV)

Maria let me pass, looking curiously at the item under my arm. I'm not sure if she knew what it was or not, but I think that might have been something that finally convinced her I am a commoner. I practically skipped (but I'm a guy, so I didn't) down the hallway, grinning outrageously. It had been over a month since I last played soccer, and I was so eager to play a game I was willing to go out right now despite the fact it was already nine o-clock and dark out.

Trying to skid to a stop while hyper on sugar (damn you Kouichi for buying me candy!) in boots while one arm is preoccupied with holding a ball is not a good idea. I fell. After skidding passed my brother's door. "Ow…" I complained as I sat up, rubbing my head. Well, at least I didn't land on anything important. Looking around, I located the ball I had dropped when I fell, and stood too quickly to go retrieve it. Feeling dizzy, I fell again, and forced myself to calm down and slow as I stood. Picking up the soccer ball, I could not stop myself from smiling. I knew I would have to wait until next Saturday or Sunday to play, but I was still overly excited.

Bursting through the door, I tripped on Shinya's work clothes, barely managing to keep myself upright long enough to stumble and fall on my brother's soft bed instead of the hard floor again. "Hello, Takuya," Shinya chuckled. "What's the rush?"

Springing up, I held out the ball and said, "Happy early or late something-or-other!" He seemed to grow just as excited as I had been, snatching the item from my fingers and examining it.

Stopping his inspection, he looked at me. "How, Takuya?" he skeptically asked. "You were supposed to use that money to buy clothes, not get stuff for me."

I looked down, ashamed. I knew this would come up, but I didn't want to tell him. "I did get clothes," I quietly stated, hoping my brother wouldn't ask me for further explanation.

"How, Takuya?" he asked, starting to get irritated. So much for wishful thinking.

Wringing my hands behind my back, I started, "Kouichi bought them for me…"

Closing my eyes, I waited for the yelling to start. "What do you mean someone bought them for you! And who is Kouichi!" Shinya yelled, Tomoki falling over from shock. Something clicked in his head and he gaped. "Do you mean Kouichi Minamoto! As in _Prince_ Kouichi Minamoto!"

"Yeah, the Prince," I whimpered. "I didn't ask him to!" I quickly defended. "He was the one the Duke selected to go with me. And he was really nice and wanted to be my friend. And we went to market and he stopped at this outrageously expensive stand that was actually a scam and I stopped a kid from robbing him and for some reason he thought he owed me for it and wouldn't let me refuse. I tried, honestly, but he wouldn't take it." I chanced a glance up at my brother, who had his fist raised and a scowl on his face. He had stopped though, the wheels in his head turning and trying to decide what to do. Was he still going to get mad at me?

He lowered his fist. "Yeah, nobles are stupid that way. They don't understand the concept of money. And he wants to be _your_ friend?" Shinya teased. "Just don't go befriending him for his money."

"Like hell would I do that!" I yelled, tackling the brat.

Grinning evilly, I began to tickle his sides mercilessly. "Ahaha. H-hey!" he laughed. "St-stop, Takuy-ya!" Feeling like I was winning, I let my guard down. And Tomoki leapt onto my back, knocking me over.

"Hey, no fair!" I yelled as Shinya jumped on my stomach and started attacking my sides. "I-I don't have a b-boyfriend to h-help me!" I managed to say through spouts of laughter. Shinya did not relent and Tomoki was sitting on my arms so I couldn't fight backing. Laughing hysterically and drawing a big crowd, I finally managed to struggle free. "Uncle! U-uncle! I give!" I yelled. Okay, I gave up, not struggled free, but they stopped. "You two are mean…" I complained, pouting.

"So, how much _did _he spend on you?" Shinya asked. I visibly stiffened.

"I would prefer not to say…" I replied, looking more than a little ashamed. "I nearly got sick when I saw the prices, but I couldn't convince him to go somewhere else."

I heard Shinya sigh, realizing it had to have been a lot. "Not really anything you could do about it," he yawned. He stood and walked over to Tomoki, giving him a long, sensual (by his expression) kiss before crawling into bed. I could feel envy claw at my stomach; my brother had someone and I felt terribly alone, despite my possible friendship with Kouichi.

Following my brother (though I didn't kiss his boyfriend on the way), I sat down on his bed and started to tuck him in, giving Tomoki a questioning that asked if he wanted to join us. He blushed and looked away. Smirking to myself, I bent down and placed a light kiss on Shinya's forehead.

_"Lost in darkest blue, endless labyrinths weaving through, will you stagger on, with no star to light your way? Share with me your tears, all your troubles and deepest fears. I remember when, you chased all my shadows away. Won't you take my hand, come away with me from this land. Let me give to you, all that you have given to me. Fly horizon bound, find the moon behind darkening clouds. Even far apart, know our souls together will be. When the storm draws nigh, dreams will shatter before your eyes. Know that you're not alone. When the battle starts, I will comfort your restless heart. You'll know that you are home. When your stars stop shining, endless vines around you winding. Know that you're not alone. I will give my all, so your tears will no longer fall, down, down on sorrows stone. Know that you're not alone…"_

By the time I quit singing, Shinya's breathing had become light and regular. "Good night, buddy," I said, quietly getting up. Sending Tomoki a smile, I exited the room. Several servants (who had obviously been listening in) loitered around nonchalantly. They couldn't have come to hear me sing, right? I have been told I have a wonderful voice, but could it actually be true? I wasn't sure, and shoved the idea out of my mind.

Walking down the hallway, all excitement drained from my body, I only felt tired. To be honest, I'm surprised I made it back to my room. But I woke up in my bed, so I had to have.

* * *

Several students were panting from the exertion, and I could feel my own weariness setting in, but it wasn't so bad as most. Being the last class to get out (again), I felt Ato's eyes on my back (again!). A few fourth years were here too. They were Kouji's friends, I knew, and the blonde was related to Takeru. Envy again held me in its grip, for I wanted friends too. Kouichi appeared in my mind's eye momentarily, and I wondered if the midnight-haired Page's polar opposite really considered me a friend.

As I turned to pay closer attention to my repetitions, I could almost swear I saw the older blonde look at me. He was probably just looking at the other participants still standing up, right? My arms were starting to feel heavy. Kouji, Daisuke, myself and seven others were still in. Takeru had leg endurance, not arm**(1)**, and we were doing drill repetitions, repetitions, repetitions. Starting to feel really nervous, I let my arms fall and dropped out. Tenth place was too high as it was! Taking a seat on the grass, I watched the others continue to practice. I got a disapproving look from the teacher, but ignored it. I'd been getting them all month so I was used to it.

Ato's smirk crept right through my back, and it took all my self control to not shiver. He was still bitter about Saturday and Sunday (how I avoided him), so I would have to run extra fast today. Hey, it got me good exercise, right? Thinking on the positive side, it's one of my superpowers.

I caught myself watching Kouji's movements again. Out of all the first years he was the best (besides my full skill which I was _not_ showing), so I kept a close eye on how he moved so I could use it to improve my own abilities. Really, that was the only reason I watched him. His muscles tensed to stop the downward swing of his sword and I mentally drew the maneuver in my memory. I corrected his faults in my head, internally putting my own body through the movements. At some later point I would train for real.

The class was dismissed and I stood to join the others. Maybe it was because I was so used to Ato dogging me or the fact that I did not believe he was watching me, but I didn't feel the curious blue eyes on my back. I ducked and dodged through the crowds, making my way to the only other safe area in the school, the commons. Too many eyes and authority figures to start anything there. So I went for safety. And food. Can't forget food.

* * *

(Yamato's POV)

I had gone to watch Kouji and ended up keeping my eye on a peculiar brunette instead. To be honest, I didn't know who he was, but he was strange. He had dropped out when was obviously wasn't tired yet, then sat down and mimicked Kouji like a hawk with calculating eyes. I watched his muscles minusculy twitch as if he was conditioning his body, learning from Kouji's actions. He was a lot more talented than he let on, and judging by the instructor's glare, I wasn't the only one who noticed.

Messy brunette hair caught my eye and I turned to see the abnormal boy from before. Tapping my brother's shoulder, I asked, "Hey, Takeru, what's his name?" I pointed to the retreating form.

The blonde beside me giggled, earning him a good slap upside the head. Nursing the small bump, he chuckled, "Be careful, Yamato. You might make Taichi jealous."

My eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Not like that you brat," I gritted through my teeth, locking his head in my arm. "He's way too young for me! Besides, I want to know because he is really odd. He dropped out of the competition before he was tired out. He is a lot better than he shows," I defended, grinding my fist into the top of my brother's head. There are two things that annoy me the most, clingy girls, and being accused of cheating.

"Okay, okay, I get it, let me go," he complained, struggling until I obliged and sent him flying to the floor. Glaring up at me and rubbing his head, Takeru asked, "So you're saying he's holding back?" At my nod, he continued. "His name is Takuya Kanbara. He seems average to me. How can you tell?"

"His eyes," I replied, receiving another chuckle from Takeru. If he was within my reach I'd have hit him again. "They're calculating, not something I have seen in anyone before year three, and most of the time they are in their sixth year." He stood, and I watched him leave. Standing, I said, "I'm going to see what I can find out. If I can't tell just by observing, I'll ask my dad. He counsels a lot of the first years."

* * *

(Takuya's POV)

I stopped the ball with my foot, grinning at my brother. Like hell was I going to lose to a dork three years younger than me. I kicked it back and scored. "Come on, bro, you can do better than that!" I teased, not needing to be secretive. No nobles came here, and I had lost my tail a while ago. I had seen the blonde fourth year get up after I did, and progressively follow me. I would say I was scared at first, until I turned at a junction and caught his eyes. Questions flitted around in them, not hostility, and I stopped for a second to look at him, to tell him I knew he was there and that I wanted him to stop. All without saying a word. He must have understood, for I didn't see him after that.

The ball sailed passed my head. "Come on, bro, you can do better than that!" Shinya teased back, Tomoki laughing. I shook the thought of that peculiar fourth year from my mind and went back to playing. I should be doing work, nit that could take the place of midnight training. Right then, I was having fun.

It was half and hour after midnight by the time I went to bed. To not keep Dean up (for he would gripe and complain all night) I had tossed a blanket over myself and the light. Finally in the soft sheets, I fell straight asleep, only to wake up four and a half hours later at five. Damn internal clock. Getting dressed quickly and leaving, I headed for the commons. So early in the morning meant no Ato. That was enough to make me smile.

Bacon, eggs, and fresh bread is the best way to start the morning. I could not help but feel guilty, though, for my parents were most likely having oatmeal, if anything at all. Taking a seat in the corner, I did not expect to hear a familiar voice. "Takuya!" Jumping and dropping a bit of scrambled egg back onto my plate, I looked around until I saw the owner of that voice making his way to me. "Hey, Takuya. You don't normally see Page's up this early," Kouichi beamed, sitting next to me.

I smiled back, glad for the company. "Habit," I remarked. "Used to getting up early like this." I took a bite and let the taste fill my mouth. No offense, Mom, but the food here is better than yours. Most likely because they have more to work with.

"Hey, why don't I show you where my room is after this?" he asked, making me nearly choke on my food. Chuckling, he hit my back a couple times until I stopped. "I mean, we are friends, and rather than waiting around the mess hall if you need to talk to me for any reason, you can just come to my room. My roommate wouldn't mind. His name is Koushirou and he's really laid back. As a fourth year, his job is to make sure my magic doesn't get out of hand. Some don't like it and grumble about it, but he doesn't mind. How's your roommate?"

"He's an ass," I automatically replied.

Kouichi gave me a strange look. "What do you mean?" he asked, confused.

I nearly hit myself for my stupidity. "Commoner slang," I replied. "It means he is far less than pleasant."

"Ah, I see," Kouichi cheered. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be," I said, finishing the last of my food. "Not your fault now is it?"

There was his smile again. "Nope. Now come on," he said, grabbing my wrist and pulling me along. The Mage barracks corridors were a lot different from the Knight's. While the Knight's are high stone walls, the Mage's are large, decorated corridors with tapestries and statues and jewels. Red carpets with gold trim ran the length of the floors, leaving maybe a foot on either side of exposed stone. I honestly felt like I would dirty the carpet with my boots and refused to walk on it, no matter now much Kouichi coaxed me to.

"This is my room," he said, placing my hand on the door. I felt a tingle in my palm and panicked.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I gasped, trying to pull my hand away from the suddenly adhesive wood.

"Giving you a key," he replied. "These doors won't open unless you have been allowed a key. There, done," he said, my hand flying back to my side. "Now open it."

Cautiously, I reached for the doorknob. The tingling came back but I didn't jerk away and opened the door instead. Releasing a breath I hadn't know I held, I pushed the portal open to take in the room. A red-headed teenager sat on one bed, looking up at me from a book when I entered.

"Hello Koushirou!" Kouichi called. "I'd like you to meet Takuya. He's a friend of mine."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I have a place I need to be now, though, so I will see you two later," he said, standing and leaving.

"He normally leaves early like this but will never tell me where he goes," Kouichi explained. "I asked him once if he was meeting his girlfriend and he replied with 'not exactly.'"

We talked quite a while, starting with what we thought Koushirou was actually leaving for. It changed after a while, and I told him he could come and play soccer on Saturday or Sunday with me if he wanted to. If it wasn't for the fact that I wanted to avoid Ato on my way to class I would have stayed longer, but I had to go. Waving at him, I opened the door. To come face to face with the other twin. Looking at him closely, I can see how people could mix them up. Except for the hair length, here is only one difference between the two; their eyes. That was Kouichi's face, but not Kouichi's eyes. It looked like a seething fire was barely contained beneath those dark pools. My legs began to shake as he continued to just stare at me.

With a single burst of energy, I shot passed him and down the hallway.

* * *

(Kouichi's POV)

I watched my friend bolt out the door in obvious terror, my twin's eyes following him in confusion. "Who was that?" Kouji asked, closing the door behind him.

"Why must you always scare my friends away?" I whined at him. It was true, they all ran once they saw him. "You're not being jealous over me, are you, Kouji?" I mischievously asked, putting a suggestive tone in my voice.

I watched him stiffen at that and turn to me in annoyance. "Why did you bring that up? I only told you I _used_ to have a crush on you because I was eleven at the time! And it only lasted three months!" he shouted, eyes cold.

Chuckling, I continued, "Are you trying to keep me for yourself?"

He growled and gracefully sat on Koushirou's bed. "Maybe I am," he sarcastically remarked. "Not my fault all your friends are so shallow."

"You know what, Kouji?" I asked. He glared at me sidelong, an annoyed expression on his face. It changed to confusion when I said, "You're an ass."

"Huh?"

* * *

**(1)** Okay, I see Takeru as being a morning type of person so he gets up early and goes for a jog, so his legs get stronger. Daisuke, on the other hand, is too worried about looking cool, so he trains with a sword more.

It is finally up! I have actually had this written up for several weeks and just had to type it... I am working on the next chapter, though with college it may be a while.

Hope you enjoy it!


	6. Chapter 5: Introductions

Okay, so I am kind of starting to get a rythem down so I can update on a regular basis. Because I am writing three stories at once (I know, stupid me) I will update them once a week. Which means, each story gets updated once every three weeks. I use extra time in my classes to write them, then I type them up and post them on Friday. Hopefully I can keep that up...

Now, I kind of feel like I deviated from my normal writing style in this chapter. Part of it could be the different point of views. I think I wrote shorter sentences on Kouji's section, though I do kind of see him as being quick and to the point. I was also struggling with the length on this one... It ended up being fine in length... I just hope I didn't drag things out too long.

**EDIT:** Just realized I never did give proper tribute to Takuya's Lullaby. It is You're Not Alone by Kate Covington. Brainlessness FTL.

**I do no own Digimon :'(**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Introductions**

Excerpt from Kouichi's class

"Okay, class, can anyone tell me the different types of magic? How many are there?" the teacher asked.

"There are two," came Kouichi's soft voice. "Those that affect the elements and those that affect the physical body."

"Almost," she replied. "There are three."

* * *

(Takuya's POV)

It had to be the longest I had ever remained in the commons. I was normally gone before six-thirty because that is the morning rush when all the other students come in, Ato Mitatsu included. My internal alarm to flee flared into life and I nervously looked around. "Shit! I need to get going…" I whispered, hurriedly trying to gather things up so I could head out.

"Takuya, what's wrong?' Kouichi questioned. When I asked him later, he said he wouldn't describe my expression as fearful, but maybe apprehensive. I would say I was afraid. Not of Ato, I have dealt with _much_ worse back home, but of having to face him. If he pushed me too far I would fight back, and I can guarantee I would win. His confidence in his weakest point. Even if I knew (or thought) I could win I wouldn't put my guard down an inch. There is always someone better than you out there.

"Eeee!" I squeaked as the bully entered the room and I scurried around the table to hide behind Kouichi. "I'm normally out of here before he comes," I said as some sort of explanation.

"Ato?" my friend asked, clearly confused.

"I've been having problems with him," I replied, sighing.

"He's never here for long," Kouichi smiled, turning to face me and falling to sit on his heels, arms hugging his knees. "I normally leave for class after he does."

"Okay," I smiled back. Damn infectious smile when I want to be scared. But then again, a smile on a happy person _always_ infected me too, so it wasn't just Kouichi.

As Kouichi said, Ato left not long after and we could sit back up at the table to talk. I had a feeling I'd be doing that more often. Ato might not be able to bug me in the commons, but he could ambush me outside if he saw me. "Hey, Kouichi? Why do you always stay here so late?"

"Hm?" Kouichi hummed through the food in his mouth. Swallowing loudly (and nearly gagging on his food), he said, "My other friends always come in… oh, now!" The door open, and, to my horror, Prince Kouji came in. "I would plug your ears if I were you," Kouichi suggested, his fingers already in his.

"Ah! Kouji, my Love!" a high pitched voice screamed. It shocked me into paralysis for several seconds, a harsh ringing in my ears making me wish I had plugged them in time.

"I'm sorry," Kouichi apologized. "I should have warned you sooner. I guess I was distracted a bit. Izumi's been after my brother for years now. A lot of girls have, actually, what with him being the next heir and needing to get engaged in a couple of years and all."

"He has to get engaged?" I asked. I am sure my voice was heavily solemn.

"Yeah, it's a tradition," Kouichi stated. "He is prospected to be the next king, after all, and before he can become the next crowned prince he has to get married to a woman, to ensure another heir after him."

"Has he ever thought of love?" I asked, chancing a glance at the obviously annoyed ravenette with the blonde clinging to him. I looked back at Kouichi as he spoke.

"Love means nothing in his world for it is completely disregarded by tradition," Kouichi answered quietly.

I guess that is when I started to feel something other than fear towards Kouji. I guess that is when I started to feel sorry for him.

* * *

(Kouji's POV)

"Ah! Kouji, my Love!" the annoyance screamed. Must she always be so loud? She reached for my arm and I batted it away. You'd think by now she'd realize I wasn't interested in her in the least. "Aw, don't be that way," she pouted, exaggeratedly sticking her lip out and trying to cling to me again.

"Stay off," I warned. Not that she listened, even though she was only a Duke's daughter and should be obeying my simple wish of _not_ having to hold her up. Talking, demanding, commanding her didn't work, and neither did pushing. Sighing in annoyance, I looked around for my brother. I found him at his usual table… with that brunette again. Whatever they were talking about didn't seem joyous, judging by the looks on their faces, at least. Neither was smiling, and I know my brother smiles a lot.

He looked at me then, a look I could only guess as pity splayed across his face. Maybe it was sadness for me, I'm not really sure. I do know I was thinking, _If you feel that bad for me then get this bitch off me!_ Our eyes met for a second and he started to fidget. I was probably glaring again. Whatever the reason, he quickly looked away. The two talked for another few seconds, the brunette standing to leave. He was out the door long before I finally detangled myself and made it to the table.

"Who is that exactly?" I asked my brother, who simply huffed and looked away. "Kouichi, I asked you a question," I added irritatedly as he remained silent.

"I don't take orders from you, Your Majesty," he mocked, obviously sour.

"What is your problem?" I snapped.

"You are my problem! You were being rude to Takuya!" he shot back. "I can't even have my own friends when you're around because you scare them off!"

"Kouji is very sorry," Yamato said, slapping a hand over my mouth and effectively cutting off my reply.

"Who's sorry?" I bit out once he freed my voice.

"You are, now sit down," the blonde commanded me, matching my glare with an icy one of his own. I grudgingly obeyed. Sighing, Yamato sat back down. He had to break up fights often, but not usually from the twin brothers. Most of the time it was Daisuke and Takeru, the former being too loud and the latter being too picky. The last time Kouji and Kouichi had fought with each other was… -oh, look at that!- over a friend of Kouichi's.

* * *

(Takuya's POV)

I _really_ don't like being watched. Ato stared harshly at my back, trying to figure out the best way to prevent me from slipping away from him today. Yamato (I overheard Takeru talking about his brother) calculated my actions, probably searching for what I was trying to pull. I could not deny that he _knew_ I was holding back. It didn't seem like he told anyone, though.  
I shivered as those icy blue eyes drilled into my spine. I _really_ don't like being watched. Kouichi's brother was keeping an eye on me, too, now. He had been watching me since Monday, when I ate breakfast with his twin (I had eaten breakfast with him since then, but just made sure I left before Ato even got there so I could avoid Kouji too). He was probably sizing up my reasons for befriending his brother, and I honestly couldn't blame him (he was just worried for his sibling), but it felt more like death threats. Another shiver raced through my nerves. Have I mentioned I _really don't like_ being watched?

"Class dismissed!" the instructor yelled. I waited for a significant crowd to form before I bolted. Food was a very tempting thought. I scooped up my allotted meal and sat down at a back table. It didn't last long. First years were still pouring in when I dumped the trash in the correct bin. Stealthily, I snuck out the door.

U heard a loud thump, the ground racing up on me fast. My wrists hurt from catching myself and my head hurt from the blow. Ato grabbed the back of my shirt and lifted me up. "Finally caught you, you little weasel," he growled, stinking breath wafting over my shoulders. I purposely gagged, despite the fact I knew it would only piss him off. He set my feet on the ground and turned me around, roughly grabbing my shoulders and shoving me against the wall.

"I would like to introduce you to a friend of mine called a toothbrush," I quipped, gasping as he slammed me against the wall again.

"Think you're funny, do you?" he maliciously ground out.

"No… I think I'm escaping," I said, bringing my foot up quickly between his legs. His grip loosened and I managed to get free. Running down the hall, I hollered back, "I can't believe that worked! Didn't think you'd have anything there to hurt!" I just dug my grave. If Ato ever caught me again, I wouldn't even be able to crawl away.

* * *

Kouichi seemed quite surprised when I led him away from the Page's quarters and towards the servant's. "Takuya, weren't you going to teach me how to play soccer?" he asked.

"Hi, Maria," I waved as we passed through, the woman looking away from Kouichi as she had been trained. "Yeah, but we have to get the other players first." I smirked widely, standing in front of a wooden door. "Shh…" I whispered, holding a finger over my mouth. I opened the door silently, revealing a small room with two beds, one of which was unoccupied. The two boys were still fast asleep, unknowing of the danger approaching them. Kouichi looked on, a mixture of amusement and confusion. He realized this had to be Shinya and Tomoki (I told him about their relationship earlier. Strangle, he took it quite well, a lot better than I had expected), yet he still seemed to be… doubting it.

Smirking wider, I pounced. Shinya screamed bloody murder and clung to his boyfriend, but soon grew agitated when he realized it was just me. "Damnit Takuya! Why the hell must you do things like that? What time is it?" he shouted, his voice lowering as he spoke.

"Um… It's… seven-fifteen," Kouichi shyly spoke up, leaning into the hall to check the time.

I watched Shinya's and Tomoki's face brighten with a deep blush, obviously oblivious to my companion until he spoke up. Grinning, I got off my brother's bed and sent over to stand next to Kouichi. "This is 'His Highness' Kouichi Minamoto," I teased, bowing exaggeratedly and receiving a "Hey!" from my friend. "FYI, he hates being called 'Your Highness' by his friends."

By this time the two boys had untangled themselves from each other, looking nervously at the Prince. He suddenly noticed their worried looks, and holding his hands up defensively he said, "Ah, you don't need to worry about that. Takuya already told me about you two so it's not really a surprise."

I pretended to not notice my brother's glare. "Come on! Get up, get up! We can't play soccer until you _get up!_" His eyes lit up at the word soccer, and he flew out of bed. Tomoki chuckled at his boyfriend's antics, getting up slower to get dressed (they both were wearing pajamas). Shinya, who was now done, rushed over and decided to help his boyfriend get dressed. He stopped halfway through yanking Tomoki's shirt down and looked at me.

"Is he playing too?" Shinya asked. I saw Kouichi move back a step, misinterpreting my brother's question.

"Yep," I cheerfully replied. Shinya smiled and finished yanking on Tomoki's shirt, the boy complaining about something like suffocation, but I didn't pay attention. "He doesn't know how, though, so we'll have to teach him."

Shinya smiled back and nodded, hooking his arm in Tomoki's and kicking the ball to me. "So what are we waiting for?" he asked in mock annoyance.

"See?" I asked Kouichi, pointing to the clock. "Less than five minutes."

Kouichi watched intently as we kicked the ball back and forth, remaining in a circle (well, there was only 4 of use so would it be a square?) to teach him how to even hit the ball first. "Coming to you, Kouichi!" I said, gently tapping the ball to him. He swung, missed, stepped on the ball, and fell. We laughed a little, but I ran over to help him up as well. We tried again, with a little better results. He didn't fall.

"Here, try doing this," I said, walking over to stand next to him showed him how to keep his foot low to the ground. His main problem was trying to kick too high.

"I hit it!" he cheered, happy he didn't miss a third time. I chuckled at his enthusiasm, the soccer ball having moved only a couple feet.

"Try hitting it harder next time," I said, retrieving the ball again. I kicked it back to him, and he kicked it harder, sure enough. And somehow managed to slip and fall again. We all laughed this time, especially when I stopped the ball by stepping on it and fell myself. I didn't think I lost my balance, and it would be years before Kouichi admitted to tripping me with magic. Of course, that was after the wedding. But I'm getting ahead of the story. I haven't even spoken to my 'bride' yet.

* * *

Okay, done! For this chapter at least. The next chapter I have been waiting for for so long to write now. Look forward to **Chapter 6: Ato Mitatsu** in three weeks!

Hey, sorry that I move so slow when it comes to the relationships... I do have some ideas for other story that gets into the relationships quicker, but unfortunately none of the ones I am writing right now do... There will be some more a couple chapters ahead.


	7. Chapter 6: Ato Mitatsu

Okay, first thing's first. I meant to get this out _two weeks ago_ but I didn't, and I am very sorry to those who have been waiting for it. The reason I didn't? That is, quite simply, because I wanted to post in all five of my fanfictions at once this one time as a "I'm out of college and not going back at this moment, yay!" kind of thing. The problem? I had to write in all five of them first. I had four done for the last week, and finally got the fifth one done! So, you can blame **The Assassin and the Clown** on the delay. At this point, I will tell you I am still writing this, but I will not guarentee specific update days. I am not giving them up (I love my fanfictions ana my fans), but ti could be two months or two days between updates.

I have been waiting for this chapter for a while now! So glad I finally got it done and up.

The Excerpts from Kouichi's class are meant to be read in order, so if you don't quite get it, check the last chapter and reread that one first. I didn't want to just put all the information in it out there, so I devided it up.

BTW, I added a little Tarzan action into this (no not the actual characters, but the scene). I thought it would be funny and fit in with Takuya and Kouichi. You should be able to find it easily, it's not hidden.

**I do not own Digimon :'(**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Ato Mitatsu**

Excerpt from Kouichi's class

"Three?" Kouichi asked.

"The third type is enhancement," she continued. "Can anyone me which type is the most dangerous?" Silence greeted her. "Anyone?"

"Physical?" a small kid asked.

"No," another student replied before the teacher could. He gently moved his bluish hair from over his violet eyes.

* * *

(Takuya's POV)

I yawned and stretched, looking out the small window at the pre-dawn sky. I was rapidly waking up, unable, as usual, to hang on to sleep. It wasn't so bad anymore, though. I could actually look forward to meals, especially breakfast, because for the last two months I had a friend to sit and talk with. Kouichi sat me everyday now (and I had confronted him about it, asking if he ever sat with his other friends. Apparently I was the only one who had yet to get scared away by Kouji).

Energized like I always was in the mornings (damn internal clock, I'll learn to press the snooze button one of these days!), I leapt off the bed into my cloths. No, not literally _leapt into_ my clothes, I tugged them on (with some difficulty, I must add), but it would have been cool if I had. I ran a brush through my hair, but the unruly mess just spring back out to the sides and back of my neck. Sighing, I dropped the brush a little too loudly, causing Dean to stir. Sleep ridden, hateful eyes glared at me, his groggy voice growling, "What's the big idea, making so much noise? Geez, it's not even light out yet!"

"I didn't know raiders waited until _his majesty_ was up to attack," I shot back. I watched him cringe away a little, recalling that the last time I called him 'his majesty' it came accompanied with a fist or two. "The brush slipped from my hand," I said with a little more seriousness in my tone. "Besides, getting up early once in a while won't hurt you. Hey, maybe you can be to class on time today."

Waving a hand over my shoulder, I promptly exited, stage forward (yes, I know it's supposed to be stage right or stage left, but the door was in front of me). Of course, I didn't move too fast; can't have him knowing I rush to get out of his presence. He just seemed to grumble at my words and pull the covers over his head, but since I didn't look back I can't say for sure.

Making my way stealthily to the commons, I snuck through the door with few people noticing me. Luckily for me, the one person I didn't want to realize I was there was completely oblivious, innocently eating his breakfast when I—

"Don't even think about it Takuya," Kouichi stated, taking a bit of egg.

"Phhht," I muttered, deflating. "How'd you know I was here?" I complained walking around the table to face him. "Ah, hold that thought, I'm hungry," I said, my stomach growling to accentuate that point, as I made by way to the food counter.

"You try the same thing every morning, how could I not have figured it out by now?" he chuckled a bit as I sat down, my own plate heaped full. "You don't want to eat too much, Takuya, you have a check point exam today."

"I know," I replied through the food in my mouth. Years of experience had taught me how to not 'spray it' as I spoke. "I'll be just fine. As it is, I'm used to eating a large breakfast, then having nothing but maybe a small snack later. I need my energy in the morning, despite how wired I may look."

"So that's why you don't tend to eat much at lunch and dinner, huh?" the ravenette asked, my strange eating habits finally coming to light.

"Yeah. It's just unnatural to me," I stated sitting my fork down on my (already) empty plate.

"And I'm guessing you had to eat fast because you had a lot of work to do, right?" Kouichi chuckled, sitting his own fork down amongst his half-finished meal.

"Yeah," I replied, sheepishly blushing at my table manners. I obviously wasn't raised by some rich family.

As was usual, we soon got off topic onto some random subject (I think this time it was snails, do _not_ ask how) that often had other students looking at us like we were crazy (although I think I too would look at someone like that if they suddenly started laughing about which type of snail would win a race). I was able to divert the conversation to Kouichi's family (this I am really not sure how).

"Yeah, Dad can be pretty strict on us," Kouichi said. "Hiro, my little brother, is the only one of us with some amount of freedom. I had to be carefully watched because of my magic, and Kouji hasn't been allowed any freedom since he was born. Being the next heir and all, he doesn't get to do much of what he wants. Hiro didn't have any responsibilities." That same sense of… what was it? Pity? Compassion? Connection, maybe, since my live has been run on trying to survive?... welled up again. Maybe it was connection, for I felt like that knowledge let me _know_ Kouji more. And the more I knew, the more I wanted to learn. "Oh, speaking of which, he's heading over here now. Aren't you going to flee like you always do?"

Jolting up to look at the approaching figures, I quickly stood and left in the opposite direction. As much as I wanted to learn more, he was just too scary for me to approach.

"I'll come see how you do on the check up today!" he yelled after me. "All other classes are let out early to watch!" he yelled, answering my unspoken question as I slipped through the doors.

* * *

I watched the fight like I was enthralled, and to be quite honest (to both you and myself), I think I was. Kouji's fighting style was almost like a dance, a mix of elegant twist and turns, fluid strikes and thrusts, graceful landings and footfalls, that just lured the viewer into his silky web. The black spider would then use his skills to try and bring down him opponent. His opponent, a high ranking third year student (though they all were pretty much equal), seemed to be just as trapped in that dance as I was, but he still held his concentration for he actually had to parry those attacks, and give some of him own.

It went back and forth for several minutes, both testing the other and neither gaining any ground. The instructor timed the match, calling out when Kouji reached first place on time. It was then his opponent decided it was time to end it. As well trained as Kouji was, I knew from the start he had little chance of winning. A couple strong attacks sent him back, struggling to regain his balance, his rhythm, before the next swordfall. He couldn't, and his blade barely knocked the tip away from his neck as he fell. That was the downfall I saw to Kouji's style. He needed to work more on breaking that rhythm, otherwise it would get him killed.

The ravenette was not finished, though, despite how it might seem with him on the ground and the other combatant over him. With a strong motion, Kouji swept the other male's legs out from under him, the third year falling onto his back as Kouji scrambled to stand back up.

He had one chance. I saw it, he had one chance to win, and that was to place his dull practice sword at the opponent's neck and step to the side, away from his blade, one foot firmly planted on the opponent's leg to prevent him from moving. He didn't. From a crouched position, the third year charged, and knocked the Prince over.

"Match!" the instructor yelled, both boys smiling a they stood.

"You did good, Kouji, better than I would have thought when you first came here. Work on breaking that dance you have, though, it causes more problems than it solves if you have to restart the rhythm each time," the third year said, clasping Kouji's arm and patting him on the back.

"Alright, I'll do that," Kouji said, grinning as he made his way back to his group of friends. I watched as Yamato gave him a similar greeting as his opponent had used as a parting, and Kouichi gave his brother a hug before detangling himself from the group and rushing over to see me.

"Takuya Kanbara, you're next kid!" the instructor yelled.

Before I could even reply with "coming," a voice broke through the crowd, and my heart dropped. "I'll test him!" came the cold, mocking voice of Ato Mitatsu.

Reaching in my jacket pocket, I made sure _that_ item was still there before heading to the training ring as well, Ato snarling at me as I went through the gate instead f climbing the fence like the others had. I had a bed feeling I'd be needing _that_ item by the time this fight was done.

"Okay boys, you know the drill," my instructor said. "Try and keep injuries to a minimum. Takuya, if you feel you can't continue at any time and have yet to be 'killed,' just yell yield. Now then, start in five!" He quickly vacated the area as we took our stances. Unlike the crouched position we were taught, I stood tall, shoulder slouched a little, turning my head to the side to watch the bane of my existence.

"Let's see what you got, pretty boy," Ato mocked, grinning like a maniac before he suddenly leapt forward. My sword came up and parried it easily. Taking a couple small steps back, enough to seem like just one step but meaning so much more, I waited for the next attack before leaping to the side, rolling as I hit the ground to come up several more feet away from my opponent. "Oh, so you're more agile than I thought you'd be, monkey. Try dodging this!" He charged again, and I would have moved in a similar manner, had I not caught the sword switch his hands. Instead I went for the other side, purposely letting his foot catch me so I fell.

Rolling with the fall, I quickly got back to my feet, only to be faced by Ato again. Sword held in both hand over his head, I just stood there to let him bring the blade to my throat in defeat.

But that wasn't his plan.

Fractions of a second before the blade connected heavily with my shoulder, I moved back. Needless to say, Ato wasn't the only one surprised to hear the small _thunk!_ of metal hitting dirt instead of the sickening _crunch!_ of bone breaking. I stood a couple feet farther back still, head down in anger.

"Ti-" the instructor began to yell, but I held up my hand to stop him.

"If Ato wants a real fight, I'll give him one," I stated, rage and disgust clear in my voice. Leaning my sword against my leg, I reached into my pocket and produced a pair of brown gloves. Slipping the garments onto my hands, I flexed my hands a few times to make sure everything was in place, before grabbing my sword again and pointing it towards Ato in challenge. "Come on, asshole," I replied coolly, even though I knew he wouldn't get the insult. He would understand it was an insult.

His sword came across right, and mine went to hit it, parrying with a force that knocked him back a step. He brought the sword back around, and was met again with the scraping of metal on metal. Each time he swung he was forced another step back. Realizing there was more power in my small form than it looked, I could see the sweat start to bead on his forehead.

Silence had fallen over the crowd by then, so the gasp when my sword flew wide sounded like thunder. Thinking he had won, Ato quickly reversed his sword to bring it back to my throat.

But I had more tricks up my sleeve than just power.

My sword flew wide because I wanted it to, and even as he started to bring his sword back around, my fist connected solidly with his jaw, sending him onto his back in the dirt. "Get up," I commanded coldly, standing back far enough that he couldn't try to trip me.

Malice shining in his eyes, he obeyed, lunging awkwardly before he even regained his balance. A quick sidestep brought me out of harms way, and I watched him roll to his feet. _He has some good techniques,_ I thought, giving him at least some credit. _But not enough,_ I added as he lunged again.

This attack pattern went he same was as last. Parry, parry, parry, parry, parry, sword flying wide, though this time he covered his face. Turning ninety degrees in a motion so fast few actually saw it, I brought my foot up and slammed it into his stomach, sending him to his back again. "Is that all you've got?" I asked as he again got to his feet.

A third lunge, a third parrying battle, he just didn't seem to learn. I wasn't even utilizing my speed yet, and it was already a dead giveaway I would win. He protected his stomach this time as he brought his sword around. Almost rolling my eyes at his ignorance, I punched him again.

He grabbed my wrist as I was pulling it back, his sword still on a path towards my throat. Smirking, my own blade appeared between it and me, spinning around it and driving Ato's sword into the ground. Using his grip as a disadvantage, I twisted around so I was behind him, grabbing his wrist as he let mine go and kicking the backs of his knees to make him kneel, one hand held painfully high behind his back. Resting my sword on his shoulder, I just stood there, waiting the several shocked seconds before the instructor yelled, "Match!"

"How boring," I whispered in his ear coldly, releasing him.

The bastard tried one last thing while my back was turned. Gathering up his sword, he charged one last time, dull practice sword aimed at my back. Turning with speed greater than an assassin's, I hit his sword away with one of my gloved hands and brought my head forward, smacking it cleanly with his before sidestepping his collapsing body.

I think that's what cleared my head, for it was then that I looked up and saw all the eyes staring at me. Awe and fear was the common theme between them, though I did see some hatred among them, mostly from Ato's group. The one that I didn't understand, though, was Izumi's hatred. I didn't even know the girl, so what was her problem.

I wouldn't learn that for a while, but apparently it's because Kouji complimented me, and then wouldn't look at anyone else.

* * *

There is a good amount of signifigance in those gloves, and my original plan was to have it revealed in this fight but I changed it. it will eitehr be revealed in a trainign session (with Yamato, or something), or in a significant battle planned a good deal ahead.


	8. Chapter 7: Aftermath

This chapter is notable shorter than the last one (which was 2500 words, this one being only 2000). This, like last chapter, is one of the ones I had ben looking forward to for quite a while. Took me a long time to figure out how I wanted this done (though I figured it out before I got to the point of typing this chapter).

**I do not own Digimon :'(**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Aftermath**

(Takuya's POV)

There were too many eyes on me, too many witnesses to tell him where I went. It had happened several times already, and it had only been a week since I beat the snot out of him. I had ducked one too many fists, rounded one too many corners and run into one of his goons. It was becoming increasingly difficult to avoid Ato, and now he had knowledge on his side. Not only did he never chance meeting me alone, but now he also had a over a hundred people on his side, too afraid to fight him so they just handed out where I went like sample cheese. The only one I knew he hadn't questioned yet was Kouichi, and that was most likely because of my friend's status, though it could also be that he was afraid of magic. Even my morning routine had been disrupted, and I had to sneak around even at that early hour.

I had beaten him, humiliated him, in front of much of the student body. Those who hadn't been able to or just simply hadn't attended soon heard of the feat, and I now found several fifth years eyeing me curiously. Quite simply, it was unnerving. Probably the only place they had yet to find me was in the servants' hall, which was lucky for me because I sometimes worked there. The money Shinya and I earned up we would send to our parents when they stayed in one place for any length of time. A mail we got several days ago said they found a possible place to settle down.

"There he is, get him!" I heard from behind me. Shit, that was Ato's voice!

"I don't have time for this shit!" I cursed, running in the opposite direction. My class had just ended, but I needed to get to the commons to meet up with Kouichi before his brother arrived. Of course, Ato always 'defended' the commons by sneaking out early from class, making it extremely difficult to get to lunch and dinner on time. Thank the gods Kouichi was patient and understanding.

"Don't let him get away!" Ato cried as I rounded a corner. At top speed, I rushed through a door and around another bend. I barely reacted in time, and just barely managed to slide between my potential captor's legs on the slick surface.

My pursuers were starting to tire so I zipped around another bend, skidding to a stop right behind another of Ato's cronies. Letting out a sigh slightly too loud at the persistent tailing, I alerted him to my presence and had to quickly double back, barely making it into the main hallway before the main force made it to the intersection.

It probably wasn't the best idea to run between Izumi and that purple-haired girl she was talking with, but I did so anyway. Knowing Ato, he would be forced to stop, or at least slow, to go around them. I wouldn't know it for months, but Ato was the least of my problems. Izumi was the real trouble. At the time, though, her unprecedented hatred seemed to be the lowest on my list of troubles.

As I expected, he slowed to avoid knocking her over, allowing me time to get ahead again. Passing through an area that was actually a covered walkway outside, I leapt out from under it and towards the side of the building, knowing they were far enough behind to not see where I was going to hide. Getting on my belly, I crawled into a small crevice between the building wall and the ground, weaseling my way into the small open space often used by raccoons at night and turning around so I could watch for my nemesis to pass through the covered walkway.

* * *

(Yamato's POV)

It did not surprise me to see Takuya barrel through the oaken doors out into the courtyard. He had been chased so much lately I was about to take matters into my own hands if my dad failed to do anything; there had to be rules against such harassment.

I don't think he saw me, otherwise I'm pretty certain he's have continued to run. Instead, I got to see something that could only be called interesting. Ignoring the dirt sticking to his clothes and clinging to his skin, the brunette practically slid from his run to his belly, managing to squeeze into a hole I doubt Taichi's little sister would be able to get into easily. There was a rumor he was often lost near this courtyard, and I guess I just found out why.

The clomping footfalls of his pursuers drew closer, and I looked away from the entrance to his hiding place and leaned back against a shade tree, pretending like I was dozing. When with that many goons, I doubted Ato would refrain from approaching me if he knew I was vigilant, and I had no desire to start a fight. The noise slowed for a second, then stopped, the group obviously looking around, before I heard a growl I could only guess was from Ato since my eyes were closed, and the _clomp, clomp_ started becoming more and more distant. Experimentally opening one eye, the only other person I saw was the particular ravenette I was waiting to meet up with. After lunch, we would meet in this courtyard so I could help him train.

"What are you-?" he started, but I cut him off with the symbol for silence, a single finger placed over my lips.

"Watch," I whispered, pointing to the small hole near the wall. Not thirty seconds later, a hand appeared, followed by another hand, part of an arm, and a head. Crawling out of the tiny space, Takuya stood, brushed the cobwebs off his back, dusted the front of his clothes, and headed back the way he came. "Seems to me like wonder boy has more tricks up his sleeve than we previously thought," I stated, turning back to see Kouji's awed expression. That had to be the most interest he had even shown in anyone, male or female. I would be lying if I said I was not looking forward to how this would turn out. After all, I already had a pretty good guess.

* * *

(Takuya's POV)

The older students' behavior wasn't the only change, and this was made painfully clear every time we had weapons' training. None of the first years wanted to be near me, out of fear. I could not tell if it was fear of Ato, or fear of me.

Done with stretches and a few drills, it was now time to partner training. "Takuya, you will be paired up with… Luke," the instructor bellowed in his normal, harsh voice.

"I don't want to be with him!" Luke squeaked. Many others shifted nervously, almost praising Luke for standing up to the lesser of two evils, with me being the greater.

"I am assigning you to-" he was cut off by another voice, one that made my blood run cold.

"I'll pair up with Takuya, he can be with Daisuke," Kouji said, a relieved look coming over Luke's face. With a disgruntled look, he gave a short nod of approval and the two moved to stand next to their new partners.

I could almost feel my body start to shake. How was I supposed to stay calm around the Prince, he scared the shit out of me! Robotically walking out onto the field, like all the other groups, I got my practice sword out and tried to not look terrified. I'm… not so sure it worked.

At the sound of the whistle he lunged, connecting solidly with my blade. He spun away to the side, raising his sword like a snake ready to strike with his feet in line. Feet moving swiftly, he was soon body-to-body with me again, before he leapt back once more.

I wasn't attacking, I couldn't get my legs to move, really, and that was the biggest problem. When he knocked me off balance, by locked knees had no choice but to let me fall. Standing over me, much like I had Ato in the progress training a week before, he said callously, "Get up."

Shivering and shaking, I put both arms over my head and looked down, sword forgotten in the dirt. There were obviously many eyes on me, but I could not stop the infernal shaking, and I scrunched up into a sitting ball.

"Hey, I said get up!" Kouji yelled, reaching down and grabbing the front of my shirt, lifting me to my feet to look into his enraged eyes. He must have seen something there, for his expression softened and he let me. Slumping to the ground, I gathered my weapon in unsteady hands. "Forget about it. There isn't much you can do like that."

He was right. With fear coursing through my veins I was about as helpless as a five-year-old child. Walking on numb legs, I made my way over to a shade tree to calm down, the instructor leaving his post to come and investigate. "What exactly is the matter, son?" he asked, voice lacking its gruff texture.

"I don't like talking about it," I stated, pulling my knees to my chest. "If you want to know, go ask Duke Ishida. Just tell him I said he could tell you."

He gave a small nod and left to go watch the other students. After class, I saw him head to the Duke's office.

* * *

Leaning against a wall, I was hidden enough to get a short break. My breath was starting to come short from all the running, and I was getting hungry and tired. It was passed lesson, and probably passed dinner by now, meaning I would have to wait until tomorrow to eat. A couple months ago that would be fine, but now I was getting used to three meals a day.

Sighing, I peered around the corner at just the wrong moment. "There he is! Get him!" Ato screeched, pointing at where my head had disappeared at. The sound of feet approaching rapidly, I took off again, holding a stitch that had formed in my side several hallways ago. I had been on the run for a good hour now, every time I thought I'd lost them running into another flunky. My current mindset was to make it to the Duke's room, to find my through this mess of personal rooms to the one where he resided. I just hoped he wasn't in some sort of meeting that I would interrupt.

Looking around at the unfamiliar doors, I could not help but wonder where I was. It was the personal chambers of some of the students, I just didn't know which year. Had I not been being followed, I probably would have stopped to figure it out. As it was, the doors sped by too quickly, and my concentration was too much on my pursuers, to retrieve any information.

The stitch in my side growing larger, I rounded another corner in hopes of finding somewhere to hide. Just like the others, it was a corridor of doors. Continuing down the hall with the others getting closer to the bend, I suddenly felt a yank on my shirt. My first thought was it was one of Ato's men, hidden in one of these rooms, and this was the third years' hallway. I was wrong.

I saw a doorframe as I was tossed to the ground, a blonde closing the door and standing leaning next to it, listening as the noisy mob went by. I recognized him as he turned back around, though it didn't do much to quell my fear. He was a forth year, friend of Kouji's, very observant. The guy had followed me once before, but stopped when I glared at him. He name was Yamato, and looking around I found more people. Including, sitting on the bed and looking down at me curiously, Prince Kouji.

* * *

A lot of skips in this chapter, but there wasn't much I could do about it. As for why Takuya is so scared of Kouji, there are many. One, he scared Takuya the first time they actually met (refer to Chapter 4). Two, he is a commoner and Kouji is the (going-to-be) Crowned Prince. Three, what would the consequences be if he accidentally hurt him? That is why Takuya is afraid of Kouji. For the time being, at least.


	9. Chapter 8: Friendly or Intimidating?

Wow, I'm sorry it took so long to get the next chapter of this up. I will admit I have been slacking. I got Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep the other day and have been playing it. I also wanted to finish Wings before I worked on any of the others. That one is finished now, which makes me really happy.

I was going to have to tell you that I wasn't sure when the NEXT chapter was going to be up because I didn't know what was going to be IN the next chapter, but I figured it out while I was typing this chapter, so I DON'T have to tell you that. I'm hoping to get back into a habit of writing fast, but please bear with me and remember that while I have a total of four stories going, I also have a hundred (not literally, but you get the point) other ideas that I am keeping track of and typing down and the like.

Okay, the chapter title for this one is really sucky. Why? Because I couldn't think of one. If someone comes up with a better one, please tell me, and if I like it I will change it and give you credit here.

As I previously stated, the excerpts are meant to be read in order, so if you get confused then look back at previous chapters (5 and 6). Probably once I get the entire scene out I will make a special chapter/seperate story that is the excerpts in order, possibly.

Last note, this chapter doesn't seem as strong to me as the others, mainly because I _was_ struggling to get it out. The next one should be a lot better, but I don't feel this is one of my best works...

**I do not own Digimon :'(**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Friendly or Intimidating?**

Excerpt from Kouichi's class

"Ken, mind explaining to the class?" the teacher irately asked, not too thrilled about being interrupted,

"Enhancement is the most dangerous magic," Ken stated. "Because it is not a magic at all, is unable to be contained by other magics, and is very difficult to control."

"If it is not magic then what is it?" a snobby kid that didn't really care for Ken in the first place asked.

"An aspect of the subconscious."

* * *

(Takuya's POV)

It hadn't been expected, that's for sure, and I'm quite surprised I didn't yelp. Part of me realized it was because I didn't want to give Ato the satisfaction of that, but my mind was too clouded to rationally think. The noise of my previous pursuers passed by the now-closed door, the blonde owner(?) of the room leaning nonchalantly against the wooden portal.

After the shock had worn down a bit, I chanced looking at my surroundings. The room was quite large, two bed and two desks situated against the walls. A tall brunette, I remembered his name was Taichi, was sitting in the desk next to the door, a small smile on his face. I barely noticed it wasn't a menacing thing before I quickly looked back to the floor. A woman was leaning against the wall next to the other desk. She had red-brown hair, and I recognized her from somewhere, but couldn't think of her name. Next was the beds, and on one two boys seemed intent on what they were playing. I knew these two, they were in my class; Takeru and Daisuke. The latter looked up from whatever they were doing, I couldn't see it from the floor, and grinned at me ridiculously.

I knew by this time I had to be physically shaking, for I recognized all these people; they hung out with Kouji. Extremely apprehensive, I slowly turned to look at the other bed, and sure enough, there was the Scary-Eyed Ice-Demon himself.

"How long are you going to sit on the floor?" he asked irately, causing me to flinch. That just seemed to piss him off more, and all it took was the feeling that he was going to move to get me to back up. I didn't stop even when he did, deciding it would be best to keep my distance. The uncomfortable feeling of the corner of the room at my back finally halted my movement.

"Kouji, why don't you just stay there," the blonde I recognized as Yamato said, chuckling slightly. "You have horrid people skills." With the grace of nobility, he glided across the floor to stand above me, hand outstretched to help me up. "My name is Yamato. Yamato Ishida. What is yours?"

Still slightly wary of the situation, I cautiously took his offered hand, Yamato pulling me to my feet before I could start to stand on my own. "Takuya. Takuya Kanbara," I said, surprisingly without a stutter.

"Well, Takuya, sorry for startling you before, but I didn't really have time to wave to you. No one here cares for Ato, except his flunkies, of course. Many of them probably follow him out of fear. And, how could I let someone with skills like yours get clobbered by that freak?" he asked, trying to lighten the suffocating air in the place.

"Thank you," I stated quickly and simply, diverting my gaze to the floor. I could _feel_ him frown at that.

"You do that a lot, why?" he asked. I remained silent, not feeling generous enough to splay my life story out for them, especially Kouji, who would probably doubly chase me away from Kouichi, my only friend, if he knew. "Geez, tried to ask my dad but he said it was none of my business and I should leave his students alone."

That caught my interest, and I experimentally lifted my head. "Your… dad?" I asked.

"Yeah. The Duke all first years report to," he replied, my jaw nearly dropping and eyes going wide. "He's my dad." I watched in a mix of awe and terror as my host walked back to the door and leaned against it.

"Hey Takuya, come sit over here!" a voice hollered, and I jumped and looked over to see Daisuke waving. "Oh, that's right, we haven't introduced ourselves properly, have we? I'm Daisuke Motomiya."

"Takeru Ishida**(1)**," the blonde beside him said, also motioning me over.

"I'm Taichi Kamiya," the brunette at the desk started. "I'm Yamato's boy—ow! What was that for, Yamato? I was just going to say best friend."

"Yeah, I'm sure you were," Yamato stated, fist still clenched for another hit.

"I really was!" Taichi defended.

"And I'm a leprechaun," Yamato retorted.

A quite chuckling drew my attention from the fight that was quickly escalating. "And while those two dish it out, I guess I'll tell you my name. I'm Sora Takenouchi. I'm sure you already know Kouji Minamoto. He is probably sulking right now, so just ignore him."

"Since when was I sulking?" Kouji growled.

"You always sulk," Sora said. "And besides, you're just pissed that you actually scared him when you weren't trying to."

"He wasn't trying to?" I asked, confused.

"Nope," came Takeru's voice from my side. "You looked pretty terrified, though."

"Well… that's because…" I suddenly realized that all the fighting had stopped and everyone was looking intently at me. Growing increasingly nervous, I finished with, "Nevermind, justforgetit!"

"Aw, come on! What were you going to say?" Daisuke whined.

I was saved from having to answer by a shy knock on the door. Yamato, who still had a hold on the front of Taichi's shirt, let his best friend go and walked over to the door. Opening it agitatedly, he froze for a second and sighed. "Hello Kouichi, sorry about that," he said.

"Don't worry about it," my best friend said, voice calm. "Hey, do you mind if I bring a friend in? He doesn't really talk much. His name is Ken Ichijouji."

"Hey, I don't care," Yamato said. "Nice to meet you Ken, I'm-"

"Yamato, right?" the blue-haired boy asked. "Kouichi told me about the people that would be here." I saw Yamato nod slightly. In the back of my mind, I wondered if the older blonde caught on to the lie in Ken's voice; it appeared that he already knew, using Kouichi as an excuse so as to not seem rude.

"Takuya? What are you doing here?" Kouichi asked, startling me.

"Oh, um, well," I tried to begin but found words suddenly hard to formulate.

"Yamato snatched him from the hallway," Takeru spoke up. "Ato was relentless in chasing him."

From my slumped position I saw Kouichi's smile and watched the boy walk around and introduce Ken to everyone in the room, because while Ken might know them, they didn't know Ken. His violet eyes stayed on me for seconds too long, my form shifting uncomfortably of its own accord. I knew by now that I was just as famous as the twins, but it still terribly unnerved me. I was also somewhat surprised that Ken didn't even flinch under Kouji's unwavering glare. Since it was not directed at me, I was able to get a closer look at the action itself, and the conclusion astounded me; Kouji was actually uncomfortable! Something seemed to click in my head as I looked back at previous encounters, and the only time I could truly remember hearing him angry was when Izumi clung to him like a leech. Was his glare actually a defense against people?

"So you were drug into here?" Kouichi asked, startling me again by appearing behind me. I had been spacing with the new thoughts to the point where I hadn't even realized that the introductions were over and Ken was now seated next to Daisuke, a book he pulled most likely from one of the shelves in the room in hand.

"I guess you could say I was saved by Yamato," I stated quietly. "I was really starting to run out of breath and my side hurt like crazy. Ato would have caught me soon had he not."

Keeping his voice low and actions discreet, Kouichi gently placed a hand on my forearm. "You're shaking," he stated quietly, though he probably could have said it louder and not been heard. Yamato and Taichi were almost in a fist fight again, Sora was trying to break them up, Daisuke and Takeru were being overly loud about the game they were playing, some kind of card game, and Ken and Kouji were both plugging their ears to block out the sounds, which was funny when they looked at each other and noticed the similar reaction to the mess.

I gave Kouichi a small nod, trying to calm my tensed muscles. "It's just… I'm not sure _how_ to react," I told him.

We both sat there for a little longer, just looking around at the scene. Taichi was now on the floor, Yamato on top of him with a fist raised and Sora holding it back. Daisuke shouted loudly; he must have won that round. Kouji just shook his head and turned back to Ken. I couldn't hear what he said over the din of Daisuke's shouts, but I do pride myself in being able to read lips somewhat, and he seemed to be apologizing. "I think I should go," I finally said, standing as the entire room grew quiet. Again I felt everyone's eyes on me, and gulped down that irrational fear that welled up.

"You're going?" Yamato asked, completely forgetting for the moment that he was pissed at the male underneath him.

"Y-yeah, I really should go," I stuttered.

Sighing, Yamato stood and moved to the door, opening it and peeking outside. "Well, they're gone now, so I guess it's safe," he said, shooting a glare at Taichi as he tried to get up. The brunette sheepishly slumped back to the ground. "Are you sure you want to go?" he asked.

"Yeah. I need to get some rest otherwise he probably will catch me tomorrow," I said.

"Alright, then I won't stop you," he replied, walking over and placing a hand on my shoulder. "Look, you can always consider us friends, okay? You will be welcome here if you decide to come back. And if you do decide to, that should keep Ato off your back. You're a sweet kid, now run along."

Standing dumbfounded for a moment, it took me a second to respond. Giving a shy smile, I said, "Thank you," and left. Not swiftly, not nervously; just left. I almost ran into an older bluenette male and a brunette girl around my age as I exited the room, and stopped as they were greeted. The male was called Jyou, and I recognized him from the medic team. Taichi called the girl Hikari and sister, and I guessed she was probably training under Jyou. Still smiling, I sped up leisurely, a lot on my mind to think about. The offer was very tempting, but was it worth risking blowing my cover? _Would they even care? Preposterous, of course they would! Right?_

* * *

Laying in bed awake did nothing to help me, but my mind found itself unable to rest with a tumult of thoughts threatening to explode my head into a gory mess. Part of me was seriously considering to take Yamato up on his offer and join their circle of friends, while another part was berating me for forgetting my place as a piece of trash the 'nobles' like them had cast aside. Part of me pondered the idea of simply facing Ato and taking out as many of them as I could, while the opposite part suggested I quit, just leave and admit defeat. Mentally, I growled at that part and realized that was the same piece of my soul that scolded me for getting 'above my status.'

"Status…" I mumbled to the quite room. How long had that simple word kept me in chains, holding me back and tying my hands and legs so I couldn't fight? "Status," I echoed again. Was I really going to let a simple word beat me into submission? Hadn't I already?

"Will you shut up already?" Dean whined. "Come of us are trying to sleeeeeeep."

Snorting, I rolled over onto my side and stared at the wall, trying to drift off like I soon heard Dean do. _Status…_ rang through my mind, haunting me even in this place where I was beginning to feel that the circumstances of my birth could be cast. _Status. Status, status, status, sta—SHUT UP!_

Sitting up with a look I'm sure could rival Kouji's on my face, I let one thought slip through my head, _I will not be tied down by a word. _An image of Ato materialized before me, and I gritted my teeth and glared at it. That man—no he was more akin to a child—was the perfect embodiment of chains. And I would no longer be a passive captive!

* * *

**(1)** As with Kouji and Kouichi's family, the Ishida's, not divorced. Does not mean that the relationship between their parents are neccessarily good. Not sure if I will really go into that, though.


	10. Chapter 9: One Last Desperate Attempt

Finally got the next chapter of this done! Been nearly two weeks, and I was hoping to get chapters done faster than that. Oh well, I can blame it on my psp, since I got it recently and with Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep. I beat it, though, and it's a really good game.

As a sorry for making you wait, I'm giving you a 3000 word chapter! Okay, so it just happened to be 3000 words. Hope you like it! Also, because I realized that I had been doing everything in Takuya's POV the first half is actually in Kouji's.

**I do not own Digimon :'(**

* * *

**Chapter 9: One Last Desperate Attempt**

Excerpt from Kouichi's class

"Correct. Enhancement is actually the body protecting itself. It is very rare, and is most dangerous because it cannot be detected using normal magical means. It also will only begin to show itself through subconscious means, like danger or anger. Another reason it is dangerous and difficult to detect?"

"It is not genetic."

* * *

(Kouji's POV)

He had been sitting alone recently, I noticed. We'd come into the commons for breakfast and he wouldn't be chatting with my brother. As we walked in he would look up at us, watch our movements for a moment, and then go back to contemplating if his meal was edible. He was obviously trying to decide what to do next.

"Kouichi, why isn't Takuya sitting with you anymore?" I asked. It had been four days since Yamato had pulled the brunette into his room, and it didn't seem like he was speaking with my brother anymore. That right there pissed me off, because he had stood up to my glare and remained friends with him, was he just going to abandon my brother now?

"If you're so worried about him, why don't you go sit with him?" Daisuke asked, a clever tease in his tone that suggested my question held a deeper meaning. I wanted to punch him in the face for even _thinking_ such absurd thoughts.

"He said he needed some time to think," Kouichi replied before I could discreetly kick Daisuke under the table. This distracted me long enough for him to get out of range. Oh well, I'd just kick his ass at practice today; that'd show him.

I gave him a small nod, my interest in the situation all but gone now. As long as he wasn't blowing off Kouichi I would let the matter drop for now. "I hope he accepts my proposal, though," Yamato said. "I can tell he'd make a great friend, and addition to our group. He's very diligent, caught me sneaking after him a while ago."

"And why were you doing that?" Taichi asked almost immediately, going into jealous boyfriend mode.

"I was watching the other students in Kouji's class and noticed how he was holding back when fighting. I was hoping to learn the reason why, but he caught on to me," Yamato stated. "He sent me a glare that said, 'stop following me,' so I did. Of course, when I went to ask my dad about him, he said that it wasn't any of my business and I should just drop it. I heard him mumble that I was too observant for my own good as I was leaving."

"Hey Ken, over here!" my brother yelled, standing up and waving an arm so the bluenette could find him. He seemed to ponder having not heard him for a second, but slowly turned and walked towards the table.

Yamato wasn't the only observant one. I had seen him do this a couple times now, and after that remark regarding me and Takuya, I figured it was time for some payback. "I guess you really are following in your idol's footsteps, aren't you?" I whispered in Daisuke's ear. "Well, not exactly, since it's not the blonde you're going after."

He pretty much jumped out of his skin at my comment, Turning on me with blazing eyes, and cheeks. "I-I don't know what you're talking about," he said,, obviously flustered.

"And that would be more convincing if you weren't stuttering and your face wasn't burning," I retorted. "Just so you realize, you'll have a tough time cracking that one, he has a thicker skull than I do."

"And how you know that?" Daisuke hissed.

"Because I've actually spoken to him," I replied, then moved just enough so that the only available spot to sit was between me and the idiot brunette. I think Kouichi saw me do that, for he hid a smirk behind his hand. And like I said, Yamato wasn't the only observant one.

Periodically throughout lunch I felt his eyes on my back. Most likely it was because of where I sat, and he wasn't just looking at me. Whatever the reason, he was doing it more today than he had the last couple, and I half expected him to walk over to chat with us. That, of course, didn't happen, and when Kouichi mentioned he had to get to class we all stood up to leave. Against my better judgment I took a second to look over my shoulder, and found Takuya had already departed.

"Looking for someone?" Daisuke whispered in my ear, much like I had done before.

"I'm not," I stated simply.

"And that would be more convincing if your face wasn't burning," he retorted. It was only then that I noticed I was, indeed, blushing. That just made me blush harder for I didn't understand why.

And of course, Daisuke had to be observant too.

* * *

As with the last practices, few wanted to face off against Takuya. I volunteered to be his partner again because I wanted to test my skills against his. He didn't seem as nervous this time as he had been the first, but I could tell that this wasn't going to be the fight I had hoped for. Almost sighing in defeat, I took the proper stance our instructor wanted us to. After a second, Takuya did too.

His actions were crude and jerky and small, the idiot nearly tripping over a rock. I heard the instructor call for him to calm down, but it didn't seem to work. His resistance did give me time to practice my own style, though, and I quickly skipped back when my routine was broken. I was getting better at that, but I needed to quickly restart it, too. And be able to simply take pieces of it to use in battle, instead of the whole sequence.

After several minutes of us going back and forth, neither of us really going all out (and with Takuya still quite nervous), the instructor finally called a tie, lecturing both of us for holding back, saying that the enemy won't play a training dummy for us. I believe I heard Takuya mumble 'I know that better than you do,' but I'm not sure.

After several more groups went, we were finally dismissed for dinner. Takeru was the one who mentioned that he couldn't find Takuya, and not thinking, I said, "He snuck out as soon as we were allowed to leave to avoid Ato."

"Keeping an eye on him?" Daisuke sneered, causing Takeru to chuckle quietly under his hand.

"No," I shot back. "I happened to see him do so a while ago, before he knocked the pig out, and we all know how Ato has been trying harder to get his hands on Takuya since then. The logical conclusion would be that he snuck out early like he has done before."

"So why are you trying so hard to defend yourself?" Daisuke asked, a big, goofy grin on his face. Had Takeru not been between us I'd have cleared that blemish up right away.

"I was merely answering your question," I clarified.

Kouichi and Ken were already seated when we entered the commons, and my two companions waved to them as we made our way to the line. Daisuke loaded up his plate a little more than necessary, while I probably took too little. Vaguely, I wondered how he and Taichi, who had the same habit of eating too much, managed to stay trim.

Soon the rest of the group came in, and within minutes the table was starting to get crowded. The two brunettes chatted quite loudly across the table, and I noticed that Ken seemed to be listening in discreetly. I figured it was because he was trying to fit in with our group, and was trying to learn more about them.

I was just about to think I was in the clear when, "Kouji, my love!" I involuntarily cringed at the girl's high pitched voice. _Shit, she found me again,_ I thought. _And the only free seat is one next to me. And it's too late to move and hide it for she already saw it. And is heading this way…_ The irritated sigh was mutual around the table, our peaceful meal (if you could call the noise normally coming from Daisuke and Taichi peaceful, that is) once again ruined by the blonde bimbo.

"Can I sit here?" a familiar voice asked, a tanned hand resting on my shoulder. I snapped my head up to look into Takuya's smiling face. From behind him I heard Izumi give out a quiet (for her) scream of protest, as if to ask me, "are you going to let him take my spot?" I could tell from his stance, and the slight trembling of his hand on my shoulder, that he was really uncomfortable at the moment.

"Yeah, go ahead," I said with a slight nod. It was not hard to feel the holes Izumi was trying to drill into the back of my skull, but it was surprisingly simple to ignore them. It wasn't until I heard her turn and stomp off that I leaned over and whispered, "Thanks for that," in Takuya's ear.

"Not a problem," he replied equally quiet, using his fork to mess with the food instead of eating it. "I remember seeing your reaction to her antics a while ago, and you didn't look too thrilled."

"And like I said, thanks," I reiterated.

"Can I take this as a yes?" Yamato asked once we stopped our whispering conversation.

Nervously, he stabbed a piece of broccoli and shoved it in his mouth to delay his answer. We all realized this, but it was Kouichi who laughed. At first I thought he was being insensitive, but then Takuya shrugged his shoulders.

"He hates broccoli," Kouichi informed us.

Swallowing the bite with difficulty, Takuya looked up from his plate. "I would like to…" he said nearly inaudibly. The only reason I heard him was because he was sitting next to me.

"What?" Yamato asked, though he already knew what Takuya's answer was. Just being here was answer enough.

"I said I'd like to," he said, a little more confident.

"Then welcome to the group, Takuya," Taichi cut in before Yamato could.

* * *

(Takuya's POV)

It went a lot better than I had hoped. Part of me was convinced Yamato was simply messing with me, and if I came and asked if I could be part of their circle of friends that he would laugh in my face and ask if I really believed him. The weight of my status again sagged my shoulders, before I rebelled against it. Sure, it would be difficult to keep it hidden, but I had the confidence that I could. I made myself have the confidence.

Not long after I joined them Daisuke and Taichi had me laughing. I could tell too much noise would annoy Kouji, so I tried to keep it down. _Tried_ being the operative word. I _failed_ miserably. I could get into their conversation easily, and found that when I actually had something to talk about that I was less nervous.

When we finally went to leave, I was the last out the door. They were already heading down the hallway when I entered it. They were heading to Yamato's room again, since they alternated between his and Kouji's, depending on who was okay with walking farther afterwards. I glanced down the way I normally went, spotting Ato grinning evilly at me as he slowly approached. Smiling to myself, I turned and ran to catch up to Kouichi and the others. Looking back over my shoulder one last time, I saw the enraged expression on Ato's fat face. And I knew I wouldn't have to worry about him anymore.

* * *

In the couple weeks since I became their friend, I had warmed up to pretty much everyone. Ken was difficult to approach, and I would loosely use the word friend with him, though he was opening up quite a bit to Daisuke and knew it would only be a matter of time before we could all easily sit with him. Kouji, though, was still difficult for me. When he wasn't glaring he was sleeping. I had noticed his glare was a form of self-protection, to keep himself from getting hurt by getting too close to others, but it was a _very good_ defense. I had managed to calm myself down at practice and give Kouji a better practice partner. The instructor had also stopped berating us for holding back since we were ahead of the class.

I stretched as I walked down the hall, since we normally met in the commons in the morning. I checked around corners before I passed through, Ato still liking to try and catch me alone. When I arrived at the commons I found a strange scene, though. Several of the pig's thugs were gathered around someone, seemingly threatening them. They were located in a darkened hallway, and I was about to skirt around them when I heard Kouji ask, "And if I refuse?"

There was the distinct sound of a fist impacting something soft, and I quickly turned on the balls of my feet, running towards them with silent footfalls. I honestly couldn't believe they were attacking the Prince, but I called him friend now. And even if I wasn't, like hell would I let them get away with it.

As I got closer I could see the scene a little better. Ato was among the bastards there, and he had two of his men restraining Kouji's arms. They didn't realize I was there until it was too late. Leaping into the air, I slammed both of my feet into the side of one of Kouji's captors. The Prince was then given enough leeway to regain control of one of his arms and sock the guy right in the jaw. He backed up and doubled over, on arm holding his side and the other covering his bruising jaw.

After pushing off the guy, I flew backwards, flipping so I could land facing them. The friction between my hands and the floor began to sting by the time I stopped, the groups momentary shock having worn off by that time. Two of the remaining five and Ato charged me, the remaining guy going to help hold Kouji again. He had one arm and one leg free now (the guys restraining him were pinning his legs between one of theirs and the wall), though, and he deftly swung it around and up to catch the guy in the temple. With one momentarily incapacitated, he just had to get free of the other now.

I dodged a fist aimed for my nose by strafing left. The next blow was avoided by dropping so I was sitting on the balls of my feet. Falling to one knee, I brought my elbow forward and up, catching the guy right in groin. The second guy was towering over me by this time, and I grinned as I shot up, catching him in the chin with the top of my head.

Had Kouji been as hardheaded as I was, he probably would have followed my example to get free of his second captor. He wasn't, though, so he didn't. His knee followed the same path as my elbow had, allowing his to get his other leg free. Two fingers jabbed into the guys shoulder, loosening it enough for him to regain his arm as well. From there, hit brought his fist flush with the guy's cheek before spinning around and kicking him in the stomach, sending him back into the wall. Making sure to step on the guy he kicked in the head, he quickly ran to help take out the remaining opponent, Ato.

With his two flunkies down, the last using my head, Ato quickly flung himself into the fray, using his bulk to his advantage. Slightly disoriented from the harder-than-expected jaw, I was barely able to roll out of the way before he slammed into the wall. Backing up, I managed to trip over something, maybe my own feet, maybe one of my fallen enemies. A hand was immediately offered to me, though, and I looked up to see Kouji smirking down at me. Taking the hand with a sinister grin of my own, we both moved as if this whole thing had been planned out. Turning to the side so that our backs were facing each other, we both brought a leg up and slammed a foot into Ato's oversized belly, sending him back into the wall just like Kouji had done to one of his flunkies. Standing on guard, we waited for a moment to make sure none of them would move.

"I guess I owe you again," Kouji said out of nowhere.

"Not at all," I replied. "That's what friends do, right? I got your back, and you got mine, right?" I asked, holding out my hand. "Friends?"

Smiling what I could tell was a rare, genuine smile, he replied, "Yeah, friends," and took my offered hand, giving it a swift shake before letting go and heading towards the main hallway. "Are you coming or not, Takuya?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Yeah!" I hollered, running to catch up.

When Yamato saw Kouji's injuries (he had a bruise on his cheek and on his wrists from being restrained) he forced the story out of us. Ato was immediately expelled. It wasn't until a month later that Jyou would tell us he was bedridden for a week after the beating we gave him from internal injuries. He had heard it from it from another healer.

* * *

One enemy down, one to go. Can you guess which enemy that is?

I love to hear your comments.


	11. Chapter 10: Forewarnings

I upload this document onto fanfiction and suddenly realize that I never titled the chapter. I've been having trouble with naming titles recently.

This chapter skips between POVs every section, I hope you enjoy that. There are also times much later when I might use a normal (third person) POV because it wouldn't fit well as a specific person's POV. Though, that isn't until later. I had originally planned Junpei to be a friend of Kouji's and the others, but he fit in better with Izumi. I didn't really care for him much in anime, either. To me, he was kind of a character that was just there.

Please note that I am starting to write a book now, as in an actual novel. This means some of my time will be taken up by that and it could cause upload delays. I'm sorry for those of you who are impatient (like me), but I really want to (and need to, since I have no income currently; I can't leach off my parents forever) get out actual copyrightable material. Hope you're rooting for me! It will be a while before it is finished, but I will probably tell everyone here when it is (if this fanfiction isn't finished yet, which it shouldn't be).

**I do not own Digimon**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Forewarnings**

Excerpt from Kouichi's class

"Correct again, Ken. Now, can you tell me the difference between the three magics?"

"Elemental magic only affects the elements like fire, ice, earth, et cetera. I think you all know them. Physical only affects the body, like speed and senses. It can even grant a sixth sense. Enhancement can be for one, both, or neither."

"Then what is the difference?" she inquired.

"Elemental and physical magics draw energy from the environment, enhancement uses the body's aura. Enhancement can also push things passed the physical boundaries. It can literally push things passed the breaking point."

* * *

(Kouji's POV)

"Look, here is your problem," the brunette stated, going over the (poorly, I might add) diagrams of my fighting routine. "Here is another one, and another, and another." He had said this several times now, and each time I replied with more anger. Of course, that only made him smile and laugh, and say that he must be right or else I would remain calm. Hard to believe this kid was deathly afraid of me just weeks before.

"No matter how many times you point it out it does no good unless I have a way to fix it," I growled, folding my arms and lowering my head a bit in frustration. I could feel the veins in my head threatening to rupture, and an outburst would only entertain him more. Like hell was I going to give him that satisfaction! Again… I swear, he is the only one who could get under my skin and break my calm composure.

"Well, you should have just said so!" he exasperated, huffing and shaking his head. "I could have given you pointers a week ago. Look, here your foot is barely touching the ground, almost as if you are gliding over it, not walking on it." A tanned finger pointed to one stage in his (again, I'll add poorly) drawn diagrams. It was so difficult to take him seriously when he used those. "Your movements are fluid, but you don't have much control over your movements until you get to here," he stated, finger landing on a segment a few moves down the chain. "You have to make sure your feet are always in control of where you go. For example, hold the ground enough that you can go from here-" he pointed to one move "-to here-" he moved to a spot on a different part of the page "-if your enemy comes at you from this side. Same for other moves."

"Hold the ground?" I asked, kind of skeptical about his wording.

"Yeah," he confirmed, grinning at me. "You need to actually use the tred on your boots to grip the ground. Of course, going barefoot is a lot more efficient, but we wouldn't want to get dirt on your freshly manicured toes," he teased.

"What was that?" I asked, half-angry and half-teasing back. "I'm sorry I wasn't raised on a farm." _Honestly, where was he raised that they would let him go barefoot everywhere? Did his parents just not care? _I wondered.

"I'd rather slop around with the pigs than wear pretty clothes to some over-expensive ball," he retorted. "Especially when my mom decides she wished she had a girl and puts me in a dress." I went livid at that. He had to bring _that _up, didn't he? I could hear Yamato chuckling quietly, even with the outrageous laughter from Daisuke and Taichi.

"Sh-shut up!" I yelled, face red from embarrassment. "I still can't believe you told him about that!"

My reaction just made things worse, and Taichi actually fell off the bed and into Yamato, knocking the blonde from his feet. The two ended up in a giggling heap on the floor, laughing even harder from the hilarity of it. When they tried to detangle their legs Taichi lost what little precarious balance he had and fell onto Yamato's chest. And neither moved for a moment.

My first though when their faces started to move closer was, _Oh, lovely. Just what I need to see on a Thursday._ My second thought was, _Shit! What the hell is Takuya going to think of this?_ It was too late to stop them, though, and they were soon lip-locked on my bedroom floor. Almost grimacing, I glanced sideways at the brunette to my right, surprised when I realized he wasn't even the slightest bit disgusted at the display. In fact, he seemed to almost be ready to burst out laughing.

"Is this what you two were so desperate to keep from me?" he asked, startling the two squires. Suddenly it was easy for them to detangle their limbs, Yamato even speeding away from his boyfriend so fast he hit his head on Takeru's desk. I'm not sure if it was his skull or the wooden table, but there was a loud _crack!_ on impact. "Did you really think I would mind something like this?"

"Believe it or not, ow," Yamato started, rubbing the developing bump on the back of his head, "there are many who would consider that disgusting. You mean you don't?"

Takuya shook his said so enthusiastically (violently?) I feared his neck would snap. Pointing one finger to the ceiling, he said, "I was always taught that love is love, no matter the form or source. My brother has a boyfriend, so why would I scorn you for the same thing?"

"Seriously?" Taichi asked, appearing in front of Takuya out of the blue. "My parents weren't too pleased with my choice, since that meant they wouldn't get any heirs, except for Kari's, but they seem to think that is different. Yamato's were adamantly against it and even tried to arrange a marriage for him. Your parents don't mind?"

Smiling, the younger brunette said, "Nope. The only thing my parents care about is my happiness. And my brothers, of course. Forcing us into something we don't like is akin to the eighth sin, or something. In fact, they would often apologize for… nevermind! Ahahaha, Kouji, could you help me with this problem?"

Slowly, I turned back towards him, trying to read his face. Something was obviously troubling him, but he seemed nowhere near ready to confide it in me. Not that I could blame him, we could only be considered friends for a couple weeks. "You need to carry this number here and then divide by this number… Takuya, do you even _understand_ what math is?"

"Of course I do! Four plus seven equals eleven!" he retorted feebly.

"What does X equal if seven-X equals twenty-one?" I asked, shaking my head as he started counting on his fingers.

"Fourteen?" he asked, holding up fingers equaling eight.

"You _divide_ twenty-one by seven, not _minus_ seven from twenty one," I corrected, exasperated by his idiocy. He again counted on his fingers.

"Um, three?" he asked.

"Yes," I said with mock enthusiasm, hitting him on the back a little too hard to be serious.

"So then, the answer to the question… if you take this here… and transfer this… divide this… so the answer would be that the rock would travel at six feet-per-second," he smirked at me.

My anger again began to boil. "You understood it from the beginning, didn't you?" I asked, clenched fist shaking ever-so-slightly.

"Yep!" he cheered, giving me a playful push. Not in a friendly mood, I punched him in the shoulder hard enough to inform him as such. Grinning playfully, he tackled me off the bed.

"Dammit Takuya! Get off!" I complained, pushing on his chest. He was stronger, though, and didn't budge. Huffing, I laid back down and glared up at him.

Only then did I realize the absolute silence in the room. Looking around worriedly, I saw that everyone was watching us, almost expectantly. And for another few seconds, I was confused as to why. Then the scene from a minute before popped into my head, and my face heated up, tough whether embarrassment or anger I'm not too sure. "I know what you guys are thinking and don't even think about it!" I growled, clambering out from under Takuya. That those guys actually had the _nerve_ to think we would kiss!

"If you know what we're thinking that means you thought about it, too," Sora quipped, giggling quietly and leaning against the wall.

"Hey, why must you guys tease Kouji so much?" Takuya berated. "Sure, he's stuck-up, and antisocial, and sometimes quite rude, and… I kind of just answered my question, didn't I?"

"Are you trying to help me?" I asked sarcastically, using the bed as a support to stand. Scoffing at the continued laughter from my 'friends,' I climbed back onto the bed and crawled back to my crorner, picking up a book and writing scroll to finish a writing assignment. I expected Takuya to quickly join me, since he had become increasing friendly with me as of late. When he didn't, I looked up curiously. The brunette was glancing around the room, looking from wall to wall before walking to the door and opening it. He seemed to find what he was looking for, because he came back, but quickly started gathering up his things.

"I'm sorry, but I need to go," he apologized, bowing slightly and dropping his books and papers. I almost chuckled at that, _almost_, but didn't go to help him. Serves him right for putting me in that awkward situation before.

"Where are you going?" Yamato asked, though he obviously didn't expect an answer. How many times had this happened now? A lot. And how many times has he actually answered us? Not once.

"Nowhere important," he replied, sending the blonde a wide grin before struggling to reopen the door.

Once he was clearly out the door, I scooted off my bed and walked to the still open door, peering outside at where he was going. "What are you doing?" Yamato asked, coming up behind me. Quickly, I rushed back to my bed and scooped up another writing scroll and pencil.

"Don't act like you aren't curious about where he is going," I answered, making sure the wood and charcoal utensil was long filled enough to last if he trip was long. "I'm going to record his movements, and keep recording it until I find out. You can help if you want."

"Alright, count me in," he said. "I'll follow him when he leaves my room."

"Don't tell him a word," I commanded to Kouichi as I left, the intensity from my gaze conveying my seriousness.

I ran down the hall with as much stealth as I could, having lost only about fifteen seconds in the conversation. Luckily, it wasn't so much that I missed his next turn. Sprinting down that hall, I peered around the corner again, recording the path with a set of dashes to mark transecting hallways. He turned about five more times before I lost him and I had to head back. I wasn't disappointed, though. As far as I could tell, he hadn't seen me. I'd just have to follow the trail a little quicker next time, and see how much farther I could follow him.

* * *

(Izumi's POV)

Everywhere I turned, _he_ is there again! At lunch or in the hall, _that boy_ has taken _my_ spot at Kouji's side. And my love just _let_ him! I knew this had to be some kind of test, some sort of trial to see how strong my love for him was, but I didn't want to play anymore!

"Kouji!" I yelled, putting on my brightest smile and waving emphatically. "Hello my lo-"

"Hey Kouji," _that brunette_ said, cutting me off quite rudely. He then took _my_ _spot_ beside _my_ Kouji _again_. Clenching my fists so tightly I'm sure my knuckles were white, I stalked over to the table, determined to take my rightful place back.

"Excuse me," I said as politely as I could, "but that is my spot. Thank you for warming it for me."

"It is?" he asked stupidly, and I almost rolled my eyes exasperatedly. "What's your name?"

"As if you don't know," I replied. When he didn't answer for a moment, I finally said, "Izumi."

He stood, but left his tray on the table. For a moment, I thought he was going to leave it, but then, to my surprise, he kneeled down and looked under the table. He ran his hands over the seat, then leaned so his head was almost on the floor and looked under the seat. "Izumi, you said?" he asked. I scoffed and nodded irately.

Then, he sat back down and started eating again.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I asked sharply.

With a fork hanging out of his mouth, he replied, "I didn't see your name on it. Since I got here first, I think that means I get to keep it." Dumbfounded, all I could do was stand there with my mouth open for a moment.

I was almost shaking with anger by now, and letting out a frustrated, high-pitched scream, I stormed off. Everywhere I turned, he was there, clinging to_ my_ Kouji. My pride would not suffer this, and neither would I. Walking away with white knuckles and grinding teeth, I silently brooded and devised a plan to get back at that knave.

* * *

(Takuya's POV)

"And did you hear the venom in her voice as she _politely_ asked me to move?" I asked, laughing while in the safety of Yamato's room. I may not be the brightest firefly in the swarm, but I knew how far to push my luck with _that_ prissqueen. "It was all I could do to keep from laughing right then."

"And her face at your idiocy was just perfect," the longer-haired ravenette added, not even trying to hide his mirth. I learned it had been close to three years she had been courting him, quite poorly, I might add.

"You do realize I was acting, right?" I joked, playfully pushing on his shoulder.

"Were you really?" he teased back, fully swept up by the entertainment of the moment and punching me back. He seemed to have forgotten _that's_ what caused the scene just a day before, and I had half a mind to tackle him again and make him blush that sweet shade of pink once more. But that was only half, and the stupider half. So, the more rational side of my brain told me not to, and I merely shoved him a little more forcefully.

He was about to retaliate when Taichi had to ruin the fun. "Okay you lovebirds, get a room," he taunted, sending Kouji a mocking grin.

"Shut up, Taichi," Kouji snapped, glaring daggers at the older teen. "Not everyone is gay like you are. Stop trying to turn me into one of you guys."

"You don't _turn_ gay," Yamato corrected, standing next to his lover. "It's something you already are. For the longest time I thought I liked Sora. All you need to do is find the right guy." As if confirming Taichi's observations, he looked between me and my raven-haired friend.

"Aw, come on," I started, trying to defend the suddenly assaulted Prince. "Please remember that you are teasing me as well as him. It takes two to be lovebirds, after all."

The two squires looked to each other for a second before grinning almost sadistically and turning back to us. "That just makes it twice as fun," Taichi teased, leaning forward in his chair a bit.

"You really should just keep your mouth shut," Kouji sighed, lowering his head and covering his eyes with a hand. "You plus talking only makes things worse."

"There wouldn't be a risk of making things worse if you were more open in the beginning," I retorted, chuckling silently when I heard him snort.

"He is right," Kouichi agreed, smiling that kind, Kouichi smile of his. "The main reason they pick on you is because they finally have a means to, other than Izumi who became far less than funny a long time ago."

Huffing, he made no move to denounce that fact, which was just as well as saying his brother was right. Sulking in a corner, it was obvious he was listening in with one ear while trying to act indifferent to our conversation and do his work.

"Hey, there is a festival coming up soon, in only a few weeks," Taichi said out of the blue. "We should all go to it! I went last year with Yamato and we had a lot of fun. It has a lot of really strange games, like dunking your head in a bucket and trying to retrieve an apple, and fishing for piranhas that have a number on them that corresponds to a prize, and throwing little round stones at other stones with the object of the game being hitting the most amount of stones," Taichi explained enthusiastically. I could almost laugh at the situation, for I had played most of those as a child. They were used as ways to entertain children while the parents worked. There were several times I would watch over the younglings to make sure no one got hurt.

I vaguely heard Taichi explaining some dart game where you aimed at filled sheep's bladders, but it was his next words that made my breath catch. "And it's really cheap, too, only twenty gold as an entry fee and a few silver at most per game."

"It does sound like fun," Kouichi agreed. "Even the grouch over there would probably find something entertaining." Kouji hmphed at that and sent his brother a bored glare.

"There is an event where you throw coconuts at some guy on a platform and try to make him fall into the water," Taichi baited sadistically, watching as the Prince perked up a bit.

It was then the wall-candle caught my eye (squire rooms had candle-clocks in their rooms with an option to cut off the magic power to it at night for sleeping purposes). "Oh, shoot! Is that really the time? I have to go," I hurriedly said, grabbing up my things and rushing from the room. I would have to think about the festival later, I needed to get to my brother. Without our mother there, it became my duty to sing Shinya to sleep, though it seemed like he was needing it less and less with Tomoki comforting him.

With Ato gone, I had let my guard slip, though part of it could be because I had grown increasing used to their presence. I didn't even notice I was being followed.

* * *

(Izumi's POV)

Inspecting my recently manicured nails, I waited impatient for my assistant to bring me the snacks I had ordered. If she took more than five minutes I was docking her pay.

"Junpei," I called, quite bored. The stocky male quickly approached, kneeling at my feet. The love struck puppy was so easy to control. "I need you to carry a message home to my personal guards," I said maliciously.

"Anything for you," the disgusting creature cooed. If he could lose a few pounds, maybe fifty or sixty, he might be decent looking, but his love for sweets prevented that.

"I need you to tell them I want them to figure out who the Kanbara family is, and what they have been doing for the last two-hundred years."

"Got it!" Junpei cheered, jumping up immediately and running for the door. I scoffed at his repulsive actions, knowing fully well that he would only make it halfway down the hall before he slowed down, starting to get out of breath.

Oh, and look at that. Five minutes have passed.

* * *

Don't you just love the bitch I made Izumi to be? I didn't like her, obviously. I also didn't like Miyako or Iori, so they have crappy roles in this, too. If that offends anyone, I'm sorry. I just didn't like them.


	12. Chapter 11: Suspicions

I really meant to get this up sooner (my usual excuse, sorry), but I was kind of... distracted. First of all, I have over 38k words on the book I'm writing (which is close to 3/4th the length of this story) and then Christmas came up and my birthday and I got quite a few games, so I haven't been writing much...

As with all the other excerpts, this one goes in the conversation right after the last one. For those who don't want to keep going back and forth between chapters, I have one or two (don't know particularly off hand) and then I will make a special chapter that consists of all the excerpts.

I am getting closer to the point where Takuya and Kouji get together. It will still be a few chapters, but it is getting close!

**I do not own Digimon :'(**

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Chapter 11: Suspicions

Excerpt from Kouichi's class

"Yes, now can anyone tell me the mortality rate for kids born with enhancement magic?" she asked, getting even more irked when Ken spoke up again.

"About one in every one-thousand children will be born with enhancement magic. Only one out of every one-hundred will survive."

* * *

(Takuya's POV)

The next few weeks went by smoothly, well, as smoothly as a few weeks can go with a prissqueen breathing down my neck. I completely forgot about the festival we were going to for a while, only dreading it when it came up in conversation, which was happening increasingly often as the event drew closer. When that happened I kind of slinked off to the back and stayed out of the conversation, trying to come up with some excuse that would get me out of it. I had no desire to tell the other, especially Kouji, that I had no money to pay for such a thing, and if I confronted Kouichi he would most likely offer to pay my way for me. That I could not do, so I kept quiet.

Because I was trying to keep the festival from my mind, the date snuck up on me before I realized it. We were just walking down the hallway when Taichi brought it up. "I can't wait until tomorrow," the brunette squealed, dare I say, like a girl.

"What's tomorrow?" I asked stupidly, my mind only thinking of the fact that it was a Sunday.

"Don't tell me you forgot already," Taichi gasped, also, I dare say, like a girl. When I made no move to answer, he continued, "The festival is tomorrow! We are going to get up early so we can get to the best things before the main rush, remember? We've only been talking about it for the last week."

"Oh, right," I replied, acting as if it had just slipped my mind. That got Daisuke calling me an idiot, which I might say was _almost _insulting, and Kouji sending me a strange look. He must have expected me, of all people, to remember such a thing. Discreetly looking away from him, I noticed Kouichi holding his chin as if trying to recall something he had forgotten. Most likely it was the truth about my situation, since that topic had not come up between us in quite a while. "Must have just slipped my mind," I lied, turning back to Kouji with a smile.

"That's not too difficult a task," the Prince jested, chuckling at my indignant expression.

"Yeah, yeah, keep laughing, Princess," I joked back. Now it was my turn to laugh. Kouji would rue the day I was told about that for he was not going to live it down for several years at least.

"You mention that one more time and I'll-" he started, fists clenched in anger.

"And you'll what, Twinkle Toes?" I asked, now making fun of the "dance" Kouji used to fight. Although, truth be told, I found it quite enchanting. "We all know I could kick your-"

"Want to prove that right now?" Kouji interrupted.

"Of course not!" I shouted back. "It's way too late. I'll need to be going… um… now, actually." Being one of the few times we weren't in Kouji's or Yamato's room, having simply wandered around to avoid Izumi who had lately been ambushing us, I had to maneuver my way through corridors I wasn't normally in, delaying me longer since I was already late.

When I arrived at my brother's room I tentatively opened the door, careful to not let in too much light. There were two, distinct forms under the sheets in one of the beds, as I had expected. The slight creak from the door caused one to stir, the brown hair telling me it was Tomoki. "I'm sorry," I said softly. "I didn't mean to wake you. I just wanted to make sure Shinya got to sleep." Nodding sleepily, he laid back down next to his boyfriend.

I carefully slipped back out of the room, smiling contentedly to myself. It felt good to see my little brother comfortable enough to sleep on his own, or at least without his family (or more particular me, since our parents were… well… a long way away). Giving slight nods to the servants I passed, I quickly made my way back to my room. I knew I wasn't going to be getting much sleep; after all, I had an excuse to come up with.

* * *

I yawned sleepily as we made our way down the hallway, Daisuke nudging me slightly in question. "What, so excited to go that it was difficult to get to sleep?" the cinnamon-brunette asked, grinning from ear to ear. It was obvious he was eager to set out.

"Not… exactly…" I replied, though I doubt he actually heard me. By the time I got the first word out he was already halfway across the hall, jabbering away at Ken. There were times I felt sorry for that kid, but then I remembered that I would do practically the same thing to Kouji and would suddenly burst into laughter, causing the others to look at me curiously. I was not in a laughing mood today, though, so I did not see the humor in Daisuke's actions.

My dark-haired friend came up behind me as I was yawning again. Playfully thumping my shoulder, he said, "There is this little thing called sleep you are supposed to do at night."

Mock laughing at his comment, I sarcastically replied, "Really? I didn't know that! Thank you for the news flash." I received a roll of the eyes for my comment. "I had a lot on my mind."

"Like what?" Kouji asked, either acting like he didn't care or actually not caring; with him it was really hard to tell sometimes.

"What took you guys so long?" Taichi yelled right as I was about to reply. "We've been standing here for the last hour." 'We' encompassed Taichi and his boyfriend, as well as Sora, Hikari, and a very reluctant-looking Jyou and Koushirou.

"That could be because you came and _woke us up_ an hour early," Jyou grumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and yawning. Koushirou seemed to be equally tired, and for a moment I wondered why Kouichi wasn't so sleepy because he shared a room with the redhead, but that was quickly put out of my mind. We were all there now, after all, and I would have to give them my excuse to stay.

Taichi was rallying some of the more enthusiastic people together when I nervously cleared my throat to gain their attention. The curious looks silenced me for a second, but I quickly swallowed the uncomfortable lump in my throat. "Well, you see, I learned, um, just a week or so ago that, uh, my little brother was going to come visit me this week. It turns out the only day he could make it here was today, so I don't think I'm going to go. He doesn't get many opportunities to get away from the house so I don't know when I'll get to see him again."

"Really, you're little brother?" Taichi exclaimed, rushing over to me faster than a jackrabbit running from a dingo. "The same little brother that you said your parents don't mind that he has a boyfriend?"

"You're not going to go?" Kouji asked, a small hint of disappointment in his tone.

"Hey, I want to meet him," the older brunette cheered, yelping in pain when his blonde boyfriend roughly grabbed his ear.

"You want to meet him?" Yamato asked, jealousy lacing his words. As much as he would deny it, Yamato didn't like Taichi showing interest in other men, and he was obviously confusing the interest Taichi had in my brother.

"Yeah. Don't you want to as well, Yamato?" he asked, looking back to his boyfriend confusedly. "We should have a lot in common with him since he has a boyfriend as well. Also, he should be able to tell us more about our introverted friend."

"Hey, I want to meet Takuya's bro, too!" Daisuke chimed, rushing over. I saw Takeru slowly nodding as well, followed by several other members of our small group.

"Does anyone have any objects to not going to the festival?" Taichi asked, no one openly objecting. I noticed Kouichi flinch out of the corner of my eye, the talk of my brother apparently reminding him that I was not from the same social class as they were. He was not at the liberty of voicing his opinion, though, for he was not supposed to have met my brother yet.

"Unfortunately, I don't think that's such a good idea," I said quickly when no one raised their hand to complain. The wheels in my mind were turning rapidly; I hadn't determined what to say in case they decided to not go.

"Why not?" Yamato asked, ever suspicious of me. No matter how close we got as friends, it was still incredibly obvious to him that I was hiding things.

"Well, um, because… I don't want you guys to stay just because of me," I said quickly, making up the excuse on the spot.

"We aren't staying "just because of you"," Taichi cut in before the blonde could. "We want to see your brother."

"A-and I don't think that's the best idea," I repeated, growing quite nervous. "Because, you see, my brother is, well, really shy. I'm not too sure how well he would take suddenly being mobbed by a bunch of people. So, I really think it would be best if you guys go to the festival and maybe you can meet my brother next time, okay?"

"If he really isn't that good around people then maybe we should just listen to Takuya," Kouichi jumped in immediately. "Let's give Takuya this time to talk to Shinya."

"Shinya?" Kouji asked, suddenly showing his true interest in the conversation.

"My brother, I told Kouichi about him a bunch before I got to know you guys," I said, quickly covering up Kouichi's mistake. Thank the gods I was friends with him before I became friends with them, so they really didn't know what we would talk about.

By the look in Kouji's eyes he was not buying the story, but the others seemed to accept it, except maybe Yamato. "Alright!" Taichi chimed, quickly grabbing the blonde's arm and taking the largest problem away before he could protest. "Be sure to talk to your brother, okay?"

"Yeah, will do," I said, blinking in what had to be an unbelieving way. Even I hadn't expected Taichi to accept it so readily. Kouichi pulled the other problem, Kouji, from the scene. "Have fun!" I yelled to them as they departed, waving emphatically. I think I saw Kouji smile back at me, but then again, it might have been a glare, I'm not too sure.

Waiting until they were out of sight, I turned and strolled back into the Academy, sending one last glance over my shoulder to be certain they weren't secretly following me; I wouldn't put it passed Yamato. Upon seeing no one, I continued on my way, feeling only slightly down towards not being able to go with them. One of the things I consoled myself with was the fact that I had played all the games they would be playing so it was just a waste of money.

"Takuya!" my brother yelled as I opened the door unannounced, as usual. I hadn't even been paying attention to where I was, and suddenly I was at his room. "If I told you once, I've told you a hundred times, knock before you enter!"

"Why when the most you two ever do is kiss?" I asked jokingly.

"We're not going to be twelve our entire lives," Shinya said in reply. "And, well… that means that we won't always be… just… kissing." Shinya was blushing like crazy by that time, as was Tomoki, and I could do little other than stare at them. Then I'm sure I got the most disgusted look on my face, because just thinking of my brother having sex was about as bad as thinking of my parents having sex, which almost sent me into the fetal position.

"A-anyway, what brings you here?" Tomoki asked once he gathered up the courage. His voice still shook, though, and his cheeks were still ablaze.

"Yeah, that," I started, inhaling deeply as a delay. "Well, everyone else is going to this… festival thing, but the problem is I don't have the money to go as well, so I gave the excuse that Shinya was coming to visit today and I haven't had the chance to see him since I first got here."

"I'm sorry, Takuya," Shinya muttered, looking down.

"Don't worry about it," I said in reply. "There may still be barriers between us, but they are my friends. I just hope one day I can trust them with… this." I motioned to the room my brother was living in at that point, using it as a metaphor to our social standing. The first image I got was Kouji's disgusted expression, which hurt a lot more than it should have. "I just hope it will go a lot better than I'm imagining."

* * *

(Kouji's POV)

"Could you two _please_ stop?" I asked irately, snapping at my brunette friend. But honestly, did he have to kiss his boyfriend every ten seconds? Their smooching and smacking and panting for the breath they lost when their lips were locked was really starting to get on my nerves.

"You're just sulking over the fact that you couldn't spend today with Takuya," Daisuke retorted, childishly sticking his tongue out at me. The entire idea was preposterous, and I let them know it.

"That's preposterous!" I growled, glancing to my brother and adding, "I'm not interested in guys," as if he was the one I really needed to convince, and, in a way, I did; his eyes were not believing me. Glaring back at the fourteen-year-old, Daisuke leaned back towards Ken, tenderly kissing him again. That was probably the worst part about it, they had _just_ got together and they were already as open as Taichi and Yamato. Of course, both still had to break the news to their parents, and from the way Ken cringed at the mention of it, he didn't think his parents were going to react well to it. Daisuke was confident his family wouldn't mind, though.

"Keep telling yourself that," Daisuke panted, breaking away from the furiously blushing bluenette. "But, if you keep sneaking glances at Takuya like I have caught you doing then I am going to keep insisting that you have a crush on him."

"Speaking of Takuya, there he is," Kouichi interrupted me, pointing towards the gate we were approaching and the enthusiastic brunette waving at us. Part of me realized Daisuke was most likely right, my face heating up a slight bit at the display. Speaking of the idiotic, cinnamon-brunette, there he went, dragging Ken behind him. The semi-reclusive Mage seemed halfway between exasperated and amused, changing to embarrassed when Daisuke spoke rapidly to the other brunette. Judging by Takuya's squeals of congratulations and hugs, he must have told Takuya about him and Ken getting together.

"Seems like someone is excited for them," Yamato sighed as he fell back in line with me.

All the reply I gave him was the annoyed shake of my head. "You guys are multiplying," I droned monotonously a moment later. "First there were only two of you, now there's four."

"So when will there be eight gay people in our group?" the blonde joked. "You and Takuya will make two more, so who's the other pair going to be?"

Sending him a mock glare, I sarcastically replied, "Ha, ha, very funny."

* * *

He was leaving again, and I quickly grabbing my roughly drawn map and sprinted out the door after him. He was already several hallways ahead and I ran faster than I should have. Quickly turning a corner, I almost ran right into Takuya, skidding to a stop just behind him. Holding my breath, I watched as he stopped for a moment, looking around in front of himself, but not behind, before continuing on his way.

I didn't release my breath until he was around the next corner, and then I continued on cautiously, peering around the corners carefully before barreling around them. He almost lost me a couple times, but I was able to find him again.

"Hi, Maria," I heard him say in greeting. Quite curious, I peeked around the corner. It came as a surprise to see one of the servant women replying to the greeting, smiling and laying a hand on his shoulder as if she was incredibly familiar with him. I was actually about to storm out there and put her in her place when he gave her a hug. "I'm here to work," he said, throwing another curve at me. My only thought then was, _Why is he working?_

* * *

FYI there will be a fourth gay couple.


	13. Chapter 12: Revelations

To make things simpler, I am also uploading an extra chapter that is purely the Kouichi excerpts. It is so you don't have to go back and relocate the other ones. This also means that this is the last Kouichi excerpt. I know, I'll miss them too.

Finally, one of the parts I've been waiting for. It is at the end of this chapter.

**I do not own Digimon :'(**

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**Chapter 12: Revelations**

Excerpt from Kouichi's class

"Correct. Can you explain why that is, Ken? After all, you seem to hold all the answers." It was not hard to see that she was plenty ticked off by this point.

"An infant is run by its subconscious, and every minor thing seems big to them. It causes an overreaction with the enhancement magic that normally proves fatal. By the time they are three months old and that reaction gets quelled, most are already dead."

A deep silence fell over the class.

"Yes, Ken, that's what happens... Now on to a brighter subject; fire elemental magic. Who can tell me where that began…?"

* * *

(Izumi's POV)

The I irately paced back and forth in front of my men, occasionally holding up a hand to silence one when they tried to speak. My footsteps grew louder and more agitated each pass I made, until finally I slammed my foot down and turned towards the line of people. "I gave you one, simple task," I said surprisingly (to them) sweetly, causing the assembly of burly men to cringe and shiver. "One easy, meager assignment. You've had several weeks to carry it out. And what do you bring me?" I inhaled a deep breath before she bellowed, "Nothing! A big, fat, stupid nothing! Names of his family members! Location of his home! Records of his payment history to the school! Nothing!"

"Izumi, please forgive us," one of the gathered pleaded, falling to one knee and bowing until his head practically touched the floor. "We pulled all the strings we possibly could without drawing too much attention to you, my lady, but there was simply no information to obtain. It was as if he appeared out of thin air."

"Things like that only happen in fairytales," I growled, stepping forward and kicking my servant. "He had to have come from somewhere! The first person who brings me something tangible will get a week's paid vacation! Now get out of my sight!"

Sighing dejectedly, I frustratedly drug herself to my thrown-like chair and slumped into it exhaustedly. "Wine, red, now," I commanded, holding one hand out expectantly. A glass was placed in it a second later, the man stepping back. Taking a sip, I stared down at the dark liquid angrily. "I will find out everything there is to know about you, Takuya. And I will make you pay!" I yelled, throwing the glass against the wall, shattering it. Holding my hand out again, a new glass was instantly placed in it. Good servant.

* * *

(Kouji's POV)

The sound of water splashing and dishes clanking echoed in the large chamber, accompanied by the overpowering scent of old food, sweat, and soap. Cooks hurried back and forth from various dishes while a few people occupied the sinks, washing the plates and bowls and glasses and utensils. The air was thick and heavy and warm and stuffy with moisture and cooking meat and vegetable odors. In the end, it was a very confusing place for me to suddenly enter.

A woman gasped and bowed immediately upon seeing me, momentarily leaving her post to come to my aid. "H-hello Your H-Highness," she stuttered, bowing awkwardly. "Wh-what can I do for you?" The woman, Maria, I remembered Takuya had called her, shifted nervously under my gaze, obviously as uncomfortable to be I my presence as I was to be in that stuffy room. I glared at her slightly, almost as if silently asking why she knew her place with me but not Takuya.

"I'm looking for someone," I stated simply, looking around the first chamber. I held up a hand to stop her next sentence, having seen my target. I almost hadn't recognized him at first, the normal Page's shirt missing (sitting on a chair nearby, I noticed) and his unruly, brunette hair contained in a hat of some sort. It wasn't like one of those wide brimmed for fancy hats I've seen at court, the brim didn't even go all the way around it.

Stopping when I was two feet behind him and a bit to the side so I could see his face, I waited for Takuya to notice me. A minute passed and I was starting to feel really overheated and sweaty (a direct result from the opening leading into the kitchen where fire stoves were currently lit) and he still hadn't noticed me. Not wanting to be in that blasted room any longer, I finally just cleared my throat. "Takuya," I said, causing him to jump and almost drop the plate in his hands.

He turned on my immediately, eyes going wide in shock and… fear? "K-Kouji! I-I mean, Your Highness, what are you doing here?" he asked hurriedly stumbling over his words and looking around nervously at the servants watching us. The one closest to Maria got a whap on the head with a wooden spoon and everyone started going back to word.

"I was about to ask you the same thing, Takuya," I replied, glaring at the use of my title. He hadn't seen a need to use it before, so why was he starting now.

"I'm working, Your Highness," he said, indicating for me to move a bit closer to the disgusting smelling sink so he could turn back to it and work while we spoke. As much as I would rather move away from it, I slowly took a couple steps closer, making sure to leave at least three feet between the nasty dishes and me.

"Why are you working?" I questioned, tugging the collar of my shirt away from my body. Concentrating on scrubbing a particularly clean bowl, it wasn't difficult to tell he was trying to avoid my question. "Now, Takuya," I commanded, the heat making me cranky.

I almost regretted it once I said it because I saw my friend flinch at the words, but I really didn't want to spend more time than necessary in that disgusting place. "Well… you see Your Highness," Takuya started, looking away from me in an obvious attempt to find a convincing lie.

"Quit calling me that," I growled quietly. "We're friends, right? So just call me Kouji."

Sighing, he sat the dish in the sink and turned down the water flow. "I'm working because I don't have money. Any. At all."

"Parents using all of it to send you here?" I asked, not entirely getting what he was saying. "Or are they just too stingy to send you any."

"My parents aren't paying for me to come here," he said, taking me completely by surprise. If they weren't paying for his education then how was he here? "I got in on my skill. I went to a recruiter and knocked out the Page who was meant to test our skill. Duke Ishida happened to be watching and recommended I was sent here."

I could not find the words at first, my mind too blank to think of anything. I knew very little about the recruiters. I heard they were mainly sent to the poorest areas, where people could not afford to send their children to the Knight schools. "Takuya, where are you from?" I asked after a moment.

"A little village on the outskirts of the Kingdom. We lost our home because we couldn't pay the meager taxes on it, even with me and my little brother working," he replied, slowly continuing his work.

"So then you're…" I started, trailing off when I found myself unwilling to complete the sentence.

"A commoner," he finished for me. "A very lucky commoner."

"Who all knows about this?" I asked, still panting slightly from the heat. I'd have to get out of that room soon.

"Just Kouichi," Takuya replied, nodding to the servant that brought him another huge stack of dishes to do. "And Yamato's dad, of course. Look, Kouji, I'm going to be here for a few hours, so you should probably go back. You don't look like you're very comfortable in here. I promise I'll stop by after I'm done, okay? I'll have to tell everyone else, anyway; I doubt you'll let me keep quiet about it."

Frowning a bit, I slowly nodded and turned to leave. "You'd better show up," I called over my shoulder as I left. Once out in the hallway I tugged on my shirt several times to get a bit of cool air circulating through it, then started back for my room. I was still in shock a bit from what I'd just learned, and I'd need a bit of time to digest it, but I had no doubt Takuya would keep his word and come.

* * *

(Takuya's POV)

Finally setting the last utensil down on the drying rack, I grabbed a clean(ish) towel and wiped the sweat from my forehead. The stuffiness had only increased after Kouji left, as it always did the longer I was in that room. Dinner was done and the fires extinguished, but the residual heat remained, added to by the bodies and warm water used to clean the dirty dishes for tomorrow's use. "You going to your brother now?" Maria asked as I pulled my shirt on.

"No, I, uh… have to go do something first," I said, obviously not looking forward to what I was about to do.

"Does… Does it have anything to do with His Highness?" she asked, clearly uncomfortable as well.

"Yeah, it does," I replied, waving to her as I exited.

I took as much time as possibly could to get to Kouji's room. This was partially because I was too lost in thought to pay attention to where I was going, put a bit of it was intentional; I really didn't want to face my friends right then. Kouichi had taken the news of my… stature… quite well, but the others weren't Kouichi. Kouji was the one most likely to have a largest problem with it, and by now he had probably calmed down and was fuming, just waiting for me to return so he could chew me up and spit me out.

I found myself in front of the door way too soon. Shifting nervously for a moment, I finally raised my fist to knock, too nervous to simply open it. I was beaten to it, though, when Kouichi opened it cheerfully. He stopped once he saw my face, though, so I must have looked pretty down. "Takuya, what's wrong?" he asked, moving out of the way as I started forward. The concern in his voice drew the other's attention, even the overly loud (and arguing) Taichi and Yamato and the extremely preoccupied Daisuke and Ken.

Walking over and sitting in an empty chair facing everyone, I disgracefully hung my head. "I have lied. To all of you," I started, unable to look up. I could feel their eyes on me, though. "The truth is, I'm not like you. And I didn't stay behind from the festival because my brother was coming to visit."

Kouichi must have caught on at that time for he stood up and said, "Takuya, you don't have to do this-" He was cut off, most likely by his brother, and made to sit back down.

"Yes, I do," I continued. "The fact is… I made up an excuse to not go because I don't have to money to go. By all rights, I shouldn't even be here. I come from… a long line of roadside dirt. We are commoners so poor that we couldn't even afford to pay taxes on a place so close to the border that tax collectors don't even make it half the time." Everyone was silent during this, which I was thankful for. I knew if I was interrupted I wouldn't be starting up again. "My brother and I went to the recruiters so we could stay in one place while our parents looked for a new place of residence. I got in here because of my skill with a sword. Shinya, who was too young to train, is one of the servants here. And pretty much everything we earn I send to Mom and Dad when I know where they are. So, I really should be going now."

I stood to leave, expecting them to want me to go, but a firm hand grabbed my arm and held me in place. Looking up, I was met by Kouji's dark pools, those deep waters swirling with discontent. "And who the hell told you we wanted you to go?" he asked irately, practically throwing me back into my seat.

"I have to agree with Kouji, only in politer words," Yamato stated, walking close to me and leaning against the wall. "I know I befriended you because of your skill and personality, albeit the latter was particularly strange."

"But-" I started again, trying to get the point across to them that our social classes were on completely opposite ends of the spectrum.

"No Bifs, Fands, or Uts… um… if, ands, or buts about it," Taichi joked, messing up the words though I couldn't quite tell if it was intentional or not. "Sorry, kid, you're stuck with us."

"I guess that would also explain why your parents wouldn't mind your brother being gay," Yamato stated. "There are some difference between our… social class… and yours. Our families kind of see the ability to produce an heir kind of vital, while it doesn't seem like it would be as important to… well…"

"People like me," I finished for him. "It's okay, I understand perfectly well. And yes, that's kind of how my parents see it."

"So your brother is here?" Daisuke asked, the only one who seemed to have caught on to the fact that I said that.

"Yeah, but like I said before, I don't think it'd be good for him to meet you guys yet. He would be completely overwhelmed," I replied, finally gathering up the courage to look at the people around me. They didn't seem to be any different than from a week before. Okay, maybe slightly happier because they finally knew more about him, but not negatively different. "You guys seriously are okay with this?" I asked one last time, just to be sure.

"Of course!" they all replied, though not all in those exact words and not all in unison. Kouji's reply was probably last, though, and it was little more than inaudible words and grunt, which surprisingly made me blush.

* * *

It had been too late that night to go and talk to my brother. I didn't worry over it too much, though; I was too elated that they had accepted my situation. Kouji didn't hate me for what I was born into and it pleased me more than anything else combined. Of course, I didn't think much of it at the time.

Arriving at my brother's door, I momentarily thought of knocking (because of what he had said last time), but decided I was safe since they were still twelve. For once they weren't sucking face when he entered, though that only gave Shinya the ability to glare at him for rudely entering again. "Will you ever learn when to knock?" he asked exasperatedly.

"Not for another couple years, while I know it is safe," I replied enthusiastically, my brother rolling his eyes at me. At least I hoped I'd have another couple years before I had to worry about walking in on them in the act.

"So what did you want?" my brother asked, almost as if he hadn't wanted to see me. I replied with mock-hurt, covering my heart with a hand a doubling over. "You came too early to sing me to sleep, so I figured it had to be something else, that's all. And you are normally hanging out with Kouji and the others right now, so I figured something was up."

Immediately jumping to my feet, I ran over to his bed and plopped down on it. "You could say that," I cheered quite happily; it was really refreshing for things to finally go right for once. "Well, Kouji happened to follow me to work, you see, and at first I thought that was going to be the end of everything, you know. But, he didn't care at all, none of them did. There was a bunch of "your skill is what got you here, that is more important than money" and "I became your friend because of what you do and who you are, not where you're from" and "we've been friends for how long and you think this will ruin that?" I was really happy they took it so well. And Kouji got all red when everyone seemed to call him for the kind comments he said. He can pout really cutely, acting like he is sulking while he is really quite interested in what is going on."

"You know, Takuya, I've noticed that you've been talking about Kouji a lot lately," Shinya said out of the blue, catching me off guard. "Just the other day you were saying how you happened to get to his room before he woke and he was all in his pajamas and his hair was a mess. You spoke of his eyes at that time, too. And how cute he was." I could already see the train of thought my brother had hopped on, and I could not deny I was riding it too now. "Takuya, you don't suppose you like Kouji, do you?"

I could feel the heat rising to my face; I was already a couple steps ahead of him. I was going over the things I liked about Kouji in my head. Unknowing that I was accidentally saying this stuff out loud, I started listing off the things that appealed to me. "I like his eyes a lot, and the way that they always seem to give away his real emotions despite how hard he tried to hide it. I love it when he smiles, for it seems like he's finally being honest to himself then and it really is quite sexy. He may seem crude, but he is actually really kind and caring and protective of his friends. He took a beating for me and didn't even turn any of that anger at me. Now that I think about it, my face heats up when he compliments me, and he was the one I was most worried about rejecting me…"

"It almost sounds like you're in love him," Tomoki spoke up, startling me out of my monologue.

Those two words stuck in my head like a fly to flypaper. In love. Such wonderful words in many other situations, but right now they felt similar to hell incarnate. "I have to agree with my boyfriend," my little brother stated. "With how much you talk about him and what you just said you've been feeling, this does seem like love."

It was so quiet in that room for a moment that I'm quite surprised I didn't hear the person approaching Shinya' door. But at the same time, I hadn't notice Kouji and Yamato following me for weeks, so maybe it's not so surprising. "No, it can't be love," I started quietly, voice growing louder by the time I got to the next sentence. "Please tell me it's not love. Anything but that. Tell my it's just a crush, or I'm being greedy and want him for his money. Or maybe it's just infatuation, I'm obsessed with his looks or something, or it's just because he's out of my reach. Please, anything but love. I don't want to be in love with Kouji," I had collapsed face first on Shinya bed by the end of my rant, the unexpected guest now stepping through the open door and into the room.

"Why don't you want it to be love?" Kouichi asked kind of irately, looking somewhere between furious and confused. "What's wrong with being in love with my brother?"

I jolted up the instant he spoke. Part of my mind was wondering why he wasn't mad at me for being in love with his brother, but that part was kind of drowned out by the chaos following that realization. "It's not that there is anything particularly wrong," I started quietly, looking away guiltily. "It's just that… Kouji is the next heir. He will have to get married and have children to continue the line, so there is no way I could ever be with him. And if it is something as deep as love then it won't go away easily…" I trailed off for a moment, looking down because I was unable to look at him for long. "And when it does, it'll hurt, really bad."

I think his demeanor softened then, but I wasn't willing to look up. I hated crying in front of anyone, but saying that out loud gave it a sense of finality that wouldn't let the tears stop falling.

* * *

I made Takuya cry. Don't worry, though. This _is_ a TaKouji fic, so the two will get together. There will be problems, though, but where would my fanfictions be without problems? I've been waiting to type the chapter where Takuya speaks to his brother and finally realizes he's fallen for Kouji.

Hope you enjoyed it!


	14. Side Chapter: Kouichi Excerpts

These are the excerpts from Kouichi's class in order for convenience.

* * *

"Okay class, can anyone tell me the different types of magic? Haw many are there?" the teacher asked.

"There are two," came Kouichi's soft voice. "Those that affect the elements and those that affect the physical body."

"Almost," she replied. "There are three."

"Three?" Kouichi asked.

"The third type is enhancement," she continued. "Can anyone tell me which type is the most dangerous?" Silence greeted her. "Anyone?"

"Physical?" a small kid asked.

"No," another student replied before the teacher could. He gently moved his blue-ish hair from over his violet eyes.

"Ken, mind explaining to the class?" the teacher irately asked, not too thrilled about being interrupted,

"Enhancement is the most dangerous magic," Ken stated. "Because it is not a magic at all, is unable to be contained by other magics, and is very difficult to control."

"If it is not magic then what is it?" a snobby kid that didn't really care for Ken in the first place asked.

"An aspect of the subconscious."

"Correct. Enhancement is actually the body protecting itself. It is very rare, and is most dangerous because it cannot be detected using normal magical means. It also will only begin to show itself through subconscious means, like danger or anger. Another reason it is dangerous and difficult to detect?"

"It is not genetic."

"Correct again, Ken. Now, can you tell me the difference between the three magics?"

"Elemental magic only affects the elements like fire, ice, earth, et cetera. I think you all know them. Physical only affects the body, like speed and senses. It can even grant a sixth sense. Enhancement can be for one, both, or neither."

"Then what is the difference?" she inquired.

"Elemental and physical magics draw energy from the environment, enhancement uses the body's aura. Enhancement can also push things passed the physical boundaries. It can literally push things passed the breaking point."

"Yes, now can anyone tell me the mortality rate for kids born with enhancement magic?" she asked, getting even more irked when Ken spoke up again.

"About one in every one-thousand children will be born with enhancement magic. Only one out of every one-hundred will survive."

"Correct. Can you explain why that is, Ken? After all, you seem to hold all the answers." It was not hard to see that she was plenty ticked off by this point.

"An infant is run by its subconscious, and every minor thing seems big to them. It causes an overreaction with the enhancement magic that normally proves fatal. By the time they are three months old and that reaction gets quelled, most are already dead."

A deep silence fell over the class.

"Yes, Ken, that's what happens... Now on to a brighter subject; fire elemental magic. Who can tell me where that began…?"


	15. Chapter 13: Awkwardness

I am sorry for the extreme tardiness of this chapter. Unfortunately, I don't have a good excuse for it. Quite simply, I was in a writing slump, playing video games, and being lazy. Anyway, enjoy the next chapter!

I am kind of embarrassed to tell you that I actually forgot the events I was going to have for this chapter (if I even had anything planned out at all). This one has, though, almost been an "on a whim" story, with a few main plot ideas but mostly made up along the way, so it isn't necessarily that I forgot. But, to make sure I don't forget anything again I wrote out a timeline spaced in what I believe to be chapter lengths. So, according to the timeline, there will be another **21 chapters** to this story. I still have a long road ahead of me for **My Future King's Squire**.

**I do not own Digimon :'(**

* * *

**Chapter 13: Awkwardness**

(Takuya's POV)

Kouichi sat on the bed with me, rubbing soothing circles into my back, until I stopped crying. He was also kind enough to not mention anything about the reason I had been crying afterwards as well, opting instead to strike up small talk with my little brother. With Sunday just a couple days away he was asking Shinya if we could go try playing soccer again.

My brother was about to enthusiastically reply when I grabbed Kouichi's sleeve to get his attention. "Please don't mention this to anyone," I mumbled quietly, head down.

"What?" Kouichi asked kindly. "I couldn't hear you; what did you say?"

"Don't tell anyone, please," I repeated a little louder. "Not even your brother; especially not Kouji!"

Giving me a smile, he nodded his head once and said, "I won't, I promise. My lips are sealed." Patting me on the back, he added, "Well, it isn't all bad, is it? I mean, it's not like he hates you or anything, right? You still get to see him every day and he is your best friend so you're really close to him; probably even closer than I am. I wouldn't be surprised if he is closer to you than anyone else."

Recognizing that he was trying to cheer me up while also realizing that some of those things he mentioned might come back to hurt me terribly later, I gave him a half-genuine smile and pulled myself out of the rut I found myself in. "Yep, you're right!" I cheered. "There are still over five years of Knight training to go during which I can be really close to him, and after that who knows, I might get lucky enough to serve him! Just because I can't be his boyfriend doesn't mean I have to give up his friendship. And maybe by the time we graduate I'll be over him!" Hoping my pep talk had actually helped my state of mind, I enthusiastically punched the air. "Now for planning where to meet to play soccer on Sunday!"

* * *

(Kouichi's POV)

I was hard to watch. I could easily tell Takuya was skipping around the edges of his friendship with Kouji, afraid my stoic brother would realize his feelings. What was harder was the fact that I strongly suspect Kouji had feelings for Takuya, too, and I unable to do anything about it. To tell Takuya about it would be to give him (possibly) false hope, while not telling him might make Takuya continue to dance around the edges until Kouji finally let him go. Besides, even if my brother did love Takuya back what could they do? Takuya had it right, Kouji was to be the next heir. He had to have a wife able to bear children to produce another heir.

Sighing for the seventeenth time that night (yes, I was keeping count), I accidentally got my brother's attention. "Is something wrong?" he asked quietly so as to not alert anyone else. I guess that is one good thing about my brother, he understood the need for discretion. Either that or it was his normal reclusive nature that made him want to stay out of the spotlight.

"Yeah," I said truthfully, knowing he would catch me if I lied. "Unfortunately I promised not to tell anyone, not even you." He raised an eyebrow at me but let it drop.

"Whatever. If you ever want to talk about it I'm willing to listen," he said, standing and going to join his best friend, who was currently beating everyone at a card game called War.

I sighed again as I watched Takuya discreetly scoot away from Kouji a little bit as he sat down. Kouji seemed to notice, too, for he sent Takuya a confused glare. Takuya either didn't notice or pretended he didn't, and instead continued to play his game with Daisuke, Takeru, and Ken. In the end Ken had gotten down to only two cards left, then managed to take once of Takuya's aces and took all the cards. I almost laughed at the disappointment on his face. Kouji joined in the game at that point, and had to scoot closer to Takuya so Hikari could fit between him and Takeru.

Smiling slightly, I turned away from them and closed my eyes to meditate, a necessary procedure for those involved with magic. Looking at the drastic change in my brother's personality only fortified my belief that he had strong feelings for Takuya. Just as how Daisuke was able to draw Ken out of his shell, Takuya was slowly coaxing my brother into the open. My only hope at that point was that things would work out in the end. Just before I truly started meditating I sent a silent prayer up to the gods. Please don't let those two end up sad.

* * *

(Kouji's POV)

Takuya had been acting strange the last week and it was getting hard to not notice it. He always made sure to stay an extra step or two away from me and he wasn't acting nearly as friendly as I had gotten used to. Instead of him randomly coming up behind me at least once a day and running a finger up my spine to make me cringe (which really got annoying after a while), he would simply run to catch up and walk next to me, half of the time not even saying anything unless I started the conversation or he had something he really wanted to talk about. I kept running through the events of the last few weeks to figure out what could be the problem, but I couldn't figure it out. I didn't think I had done anything rude to upset him.

Turning over in my bed again, the bed frame squeaking irritably, I mentally growled at the brunette making my head spin. I'm not sure if not knowing the reason for the sudden distance was the cause of my frustration or the fact that I couldn't get him out of my head, but it was really starting to bother me.

"Geez, can't you just be quiet and go to sleep?" Takeru asked irately. "Or at least lay still and stop growling long enough for me to get to sleep, alright?"

"Yeah, sorry Takeru," I grumbled, wishing I could just get to sleep, too. Determined to not spend any more nights unintentionally growling at the figure floating in my head, I decided I would confront Takuya tomorrow about his strange behavior.

* * *

Takuya sat a little farther away from me than he normally had the breakfast table, idling chatting with Daisuke and Kouichi instead of striking up a conversation with me. I saw a blonde take the seat on my other side, and thought it was just Takeru until I felt a finger tap my shoulder. Looking to my left I realized it was actually Yamato and not my roommate who sat next to me. He motioned with his head towards my best friend, telling me to talk to him now. Having talked to him about my concern a couple days before, he knew I was planning on confronting Takuya. But now was not the time. The only other person I knew for sure had noticed the change was my twin, although he was staying out of it, so I didn't want to bring it up around all our friends. As much as I would love it to be something stupid and funny that we could laugh at him for later, I didn't want to risk it being something really serious.

Shaking my head at his insisting, I stated quietly, "I'll talk to him when everyone else isn't around."

Giving me a slight nod, he turned to give his boyfriend a kiss as the other fourth year sat down. Did they have to do that at the table? It made me sick at how sweet it was. Putting my attention back on my food, I tried to shove the strange image their display put in my head. Of course, it didn't help when the names of the two people in that image were said.

"Hey Takuya, you don't need to wolf your food so fast," Daisuke said around a mouthful. My first thought was, _Like you're one to talk._ "Why don't you try to be more elegant, like Kouji?" Yes, for some reason I was seeing myself and Takuya, which wasn't putting me in the best mood.

"And eat like a princess? No thank you," he jested, only pissing me off farther.

Reaching over and grabbing his ear harshly, I asked, "Is there something wrong with not eating like a Neanderthal?" Through his chorus of "ow"s I heard something along the lines of "no" and "I'm sorry," so I let him go. "Just because I don't stuff my mouth fuller than a squirrel's doesn't mean I eat like a princess." I think I saw Yamato lean over and whisper something in Taichi's ear. Most likely it wasn't something good.

After breakfast, morning lessons, and lunch we had sword training. Even now there were few kids willing to spar with Takuya, too afraid of his frightening speed and strength, which meant we were often left with a twenty-foot bubble around us when we fought.

With a plan in mind and an idea of what Takuya's problem was, I charged at him before our teacher told us to start. If he asked later I would just say that a fight with an enemy doesn't have a whistle to start on. Startling him slightly, he brought his sword up to parry by blow, but that was exactly what I was hoping he'd do. Leaning my slim frame behind my sword (damn my genes giving me such a lithe, _feminine-almost_ body), I leaned forward as far as I could so I could talk quietly.

"Don't even think of throwing me back because if you do the next time I bring this up will be in Yamato's room tonight," I started, getting his full attention immediately. Leaning towards me as well and acting like we were both just being stubborn and not wanting to give, he nodded to tell me he was all ears. "You have been acting damn strange lately," I began, "and I want to know why."

I noticed the slight blush on his cheeks, thought it was not much contrast to his skin color, and the fearful look in his eyes, and for a second thought he wouldn't speak. "Look, Kouji, it's just… well…" he trailed off. Well, he got out more than I thought he would.

"I've gone over the events of the past week and I think I've figured out why," I stated. He gulped at that, only fueling my suspicions. "You started distancing yourself from me right after we learned you were a commoner," I said, letting my feet slide back a bit to make it look like we were really just fighting. "This has something to do with that, doesn't it? I've talked to Kouichi and he's told me quite a bit about you." Another gulp, so I was getting closer. Kouichi, what didn't you tell me? "You grew up learning to not even look at a noble, and now that I know you are even lower on the social pyramid than I originally thought you feel you aren't worthy of being my friend, right?" I asked. He seemed almost surprised at my deduction, meaning I was either dead wrong or he didn't think I'd figure it out. "Well, if that really is it then cut it out! It's starting to piss me off and I've already told you I have no problems with your background."

After a short moment he smiled at me, which made me blush a little bit, and said cheerily, "Alright."

"Good!" I replied finally. "Now, on the count of three let's both shout fine and break apart. One, two, three."

"Fine!" we said simultaneously and leapt back, taking up new stances to spar. I still couldn't get his reaction out of my mind. The more I analyzed it the more I felt my conclusion was wrong. So long as he quick with the shy puppy act it would be okay for a while, though. I just hoped soon he'd be willing to talk to me about what the real problem was.

* * *

(Izumi's POV)

I leisurely walked into the Duke's office, my best dress on and my hair tied up in perfection. I couldn't believe his first words to me were, "Get out."

"Now, now, Duke Ishida, is that any way to treat a guest?" I asked sweetly, walking over to his desk and sitting on it quite gracefully. He couldn't see it from his position, but the way I crossed my legs would have revealed just enough to get almost any man hot and bothered, and the top was low cut enough to show a decent amount of cleavage. The outfit just screamed sex appeal, and it had worked on many men before to get what I wanted. Hey, I might have even been willing to give him a ride if he was a good boy and gave me the information I wanted.

"You are not a guest, you're a pest," he replied shrewdly, not even looking up from the papers on his desk. That man really worked too much; he could use a good lay.

"Ah, how mean of you," I fake-pouted, hugging myself just below my breasts. "And here I was just going to ask if you'd do me a little favor." He didn't respond, so I continued, "I just wanted to know a little more about Takuya Kanbara, but I'm afraid to go talk to him. I thought maybe you could tell me more about him. I promise I will reward you for what you give me."

He looked up at me finally, and I could barely contain my smirk. One look at me sent men to my feet, so there was no way he would-

"Student information is confidential unless the reason is absolutely necessary," he deadpanned. "And Orimoto, your dress is quite indecent. You should go change into something a little more fitting of a girl of your status."

Pouting for real this time, I did my best to not storm out of there. I couldn't believe he had actually resisted my charm! "And to think I actually tried to seduce that old geezer," I fumed quietly, stalking down the hallway. I guess it was time to go back to plan A; dig and dig and dig for clues. The only thing I could do right now was be patient. The information would come to be sooner or later.

* * *

Okay, I kind of made Izumi into more of a slut than I had originally planned on. And yes, it is _that_ kind of ride she was talking about. How many times she has done this before, I don't know. How many more times will she do it to get what she wants, I also don't know. I hope her behavior didn't offend anyone.


	16. Chapter 14: More Revelations

Back after a very long haitus! This chapter had given me so much trouble when I first started it (how many months ago?) that I stopped writing in it. When I took it up again last night it was so easy I have no clue what was so difficult the first time...

On a different note, I got a snake 4 days ago at a reptile expo. She's a pinstripe morph of a ball python, 16-18 inches long, that I named Yuki. She'll get to around 5 feet or more full grown.

**I do not own Digimon :'(  
**

* * *

**Chapter 14: More Revelations**

(Takuya's POV)

With Kouji's mistake about why I was distancing myself I found myself growing a lot more confident around him. He had scared me there for a second, especially when he mentioned his brother and I thought the other ravenette had betrayed me, either accidentally or on purpose. I was quite relieved when Kouji's guess was wrong, and I felt kind of bad for suspecting my best friend of giving him away in the first place. Now, though, with Kouji's mind on a completely different track from the truth, I felt a lot more confident around him. Even if I did get a little closer to him than I had before he would most likely take it as me becoming more comfortable with him since I no longer had to hide my social status and I no longer felt completely inferior to him. In no time at all things returned to normal, albeit a little more awkward for me; not only did I have to deal with my feelings for my other best friend (I will always think of Kouichi as my best friend, too) but I also found I had become the source of a score of new jokes.

"You know," Yamato started, "now it all makes sense." We had been talking about everyone's quirks and what could have started them. "I had found it really curious at first that Takuya would be so willing the crawl through the dirt to hide in a crevice and get away from Ato, but now that I know where he came from it doesn't seem so strange."

"Hey!" I shouted back in mock-annoyance. "Just because I'm not allergic to dirt doesn't mean you have to pick on me." I had become used to these remarks from them already and they didn't bother me because I knew they were being done in a joking manner. In fact, I kind of liked them since it meant they weren't alienating me from the group.

"No, but you are allergic to table manners," Kouji interjected, causing everyone to laugh. Now it was on!

Sitting myself up as straight as I could and sticking my nose in the air, I held one hand forward and acted as if I was holding something. "Okay, now Ms. Kouji, take a small sip of tea and sit the cup down nice and prettily on the table for me," I mocked, raising my voice high as if I was some princess instructor.

The volume in the room increased more at my return remark, and then again when Kouji tackled me right off the bed. We landed on the floor with a loud thunk—well, _I_ landed on the floor, Kouji landed on me—and rolled around a bit while we fought for who would be on top. My strength seemed to kick in or something because I won, and with a big smile on my face I sat triumphantly on his stomach.

"Looks like our poor Kouji will be the one to lose any wrestling in bed," Yamato piped in after a moment of silence, making Kouji wiggle and squirm underneath me.

"You can get up now," he growled, trying to throw me off. Feeling that my life might be in danger if I didn't get up, I jumped to my feet and extended a hand down to help him up. To my disappointment he didn't take it, meaning I didn't get to have that contact with him.

I had other things to think about, though, than Kouji's sulking (not that he would admit that he was sulking). Walking back over to the bed, I plopped down on it unceremonious, to Kouji's dismay. He glared at me as he bounced slightly, but seemed to decide he didn't want to spend the energy to berate me for abusing his bed. His anger wouldn't last for very long (like always) so I pushed it out of my mind.

Taichi was in the process of distracting Yamato, for what I guessed was to sneak a hickey onto his neck, when I asked, "Do you guys want to meet my brother?" The noise level suddenly dropped and I felt a horrid anxiety start to well up in my throat. Even though they treated me like an equal there was still a small part of me afraid that I would cross some invisible line.

"Geez, we've only been asking for the last couple weeks to see him," Yamato said, completely forgetting about what his boyfriend was previously doing. "What makes you think we'll saw no now?"

"I think it would be neat to meet a little Takuya," Daisuke piped in. "I mean, if he's anything like you then he will fun, right?"

"And loud," Ken added for the brunette.

"You don't think it will too overwhelming for him?" Takeru asked. Of everyone (other than Kouichi) Takeru had to be the most understanding of all my friends.

Speaking of Kouichi, he was about to say something when Sora shouted, "Damnit Taichi, get off Yamato's neck and say something!" This jolted the blonde, too, who slapped a hand over the still forming bruise he had only partially noticed his boyfriend was making.

"I'm fine with it," Taichi said, smiling and adding, "And while the princess over there won't say it, he wants to meet your brother too."

"I'm not a princess!" Kouji snapped, glaring and then growling when he realized he'd fallen into Taichi's trap and had spoken. "Just hurry up and introduce us already," he told me sourly before turning back to his corner.

"Well, Shinya will probably take it well, but Tomoki is pretty shy," Kouichi stated, trying to help me voice my thoughts. His comment backfired, though, and it took me nearly an hour to explain to Daisuke, no, I did not have two brothers, Tomoki was my brother's boyfriend, whom he had met here and not back at our home. I think after ten minutes or so, the rest was just him playing with me…

* * *

I made sure to check the hallways before I led my brother and Tomoki through them. Servants were allowed to leave the servants quarters, but I had found out over the months that many were not treated very well when they did; I did not want Shinya or Tomoki to be ridiculed like that.

"Are you really sure about this?" Tomoki asked, cowering behind my leg. I could tell Shinya was just as nervous, but he was trying to put on a brave act for his boyfriend, standing tall beside me as if he was just being award some sort of honor.

"It's okay, Tomoki," my little brother said, placing a hand on the shy eleven-year-old's shoulder and looking him in the eye. "Takuya wouldn't bring us here if he felt anything would go wrong." Turning back to me, he showed his first obvious signs of apprehension. "Right, Takuya?" he asked.

"Of course," I replied, trying to give them my most reassuring smile possible. The differences between them would be a huge shock, but I knew my friends wouldn't do anything to make them feel uncomfortable. Well, wouldn't _intentionally_ do something, anyway.

My hand was an inch from the doorknob when we heard a "Don't even think about it!" I easily recognized Yamato's voice, but my brother and his boyfriend thought maybe it was someone yelling at us. After all, I told them some of my friends were Mages, so it wasn't a far stretch to think that maybe they were watching for us. And since it was Yamato I knew he must be yelling at Taichi, but the two children with me didn't know that, so it made them jump and hide behind me more. Inwardly laughing and outwardly shaking my head, I pulled the door open and stepped inside.

"Taichi, do you mind behaving? Just for today?" I asked.

He was about to reply with, "No, I just can't do that," like he always did, but then he noticed the two people with me. Shinya was a little more brave and was actually peer out from behind me. Tomoki, on the other hand, had his face buried in my back. "Ah, the little brother!" he said instead, jumping off the bed he was sitting on and tripping. Well, more accurately, he was tripped by the blonde who had been sitting next to him.

"And running at them like that is so going to help," Yamato said to the dumbfounded look on his boyfriend's face. "They look more skittish than deer right now."

I almost laughed at the perfect analogy (my vocabulary was getting good, wasn't it?), but was stopped by a soft voice behind me. "You don't have to be afraid of my brother," Hikari stated, bending her knees a little so she was on the same level as Tomoki. "He's a little slow and overbearing, but he's just like a huge teddy bear."

"Hikari! You're here today, huh?" I asked, not expecting the future healer to be present.

"Yeah. Jyou had something urgent he had to take care of so he gave me the day off," she said, still trying to get Tomoki to look at her. "You can come out, you know. We're not going to hurt you," she cooed, trying to coax the small brown-haired boy to release his death grip on my clothes.

"Out of everyone, she is the least likely to bite," I joked to Tomoki, hoping humor would help. It did seem to work, for I felt him peek at her with half his face still buried. Shinya cautiously released me, too, and stepped out so he could see more of the room and the people in it. Yamato was sitting on his boyfriend's back so the "huge teddy bear," as Hikari had so accurately described him, couldn't smother them. Daisuke was behaving a little more civilized, maybe because of the strong grip on his should from the bluenette behind him. Takeru was lounging back in a chair and waiting for them to calm down before he tried to approach, and their entrance didn't seem to have even slightly disturbed whatever conversation Kouji and Sora were having. I didn't see Kouichi, though, and before I could say anything, my brother was already headed towards the other twin, the only other person he _thought_ he knew. "Um, Shinya…"

"Eep!" my brother squeaked when Kouji turned to face him, that customary neutral expression on his face which could easily be mistaken for a scowl.

Chuckling at the child now using her as a shield, Sora asked, "You're into scaring little kids now, are you Kouji?"

"I just looked at him," Kouji replied, turning to me as if to ask what was wrong with that.

"Well, you can be pretty scary," I jested, walking towards him and out of Tomoki's grip.

Before he could rush back and cling to me, Hikari asked, "Do you two want to play War with us? I'll warn you though, Ken cheats. He always seems to win."

"War is a game of luck," Ken protested, his voice calm and even. "It's not my fault you guys have horrible luck."

Looking to his boyfriend, Shinya waited for the okay to volunteer them for a game before he answered Hikari. "That s-sounds like fun," he stuttered, nervous in the same way I used to be. I gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder as he passed me, then went to sit down with the boy I had found myself in love with.

"So that's your little brother?" aforementioned boy asked. "And I'm guessing the other one is his boyfriend?" I could hear my brother choke as Kouji said that.

"Yeah," I replied, scooting farther up the bed so I could lean against the wall. "But he's still shy about it around me."

Finally weaseling his way out from under Yamato (a joke that would later be referred to as the only time Yamato topped Taichi), Taichi rushed over to the bed to put his arms around the two preteens. "Don't worry," he said cheerfully, "you're not alone here. Once Takuya and Kouji join us then there'll be eight."

"How many times to have to tell you I'm not gay!" Kouji hollered immediately. Everyone laughed, and I even saw my brother crack a small smile. Yeah, they would all definitely get along great.

The door opened quietly, so quietly no one noticed it until the person who opened it spoke. "Geez, couldn't wait for me to start the—Shinya and Tomoki are here?" Kouichi asked.

* * *

(Kouji's POV)

I was following Takuya again. I just wanted to learn more of his secrets, and maybe I was already unconsciously aware of the reason why, but I told myself it was because I felt cheated that my brother knew more about my best friend than I did. Don't mind the fact that Kouichi knew Takuya before I did and that there were specific reason for why he knew of Takuya's status, I felt a little betrayed.

He was walking Shinya and Tomoki back to their room, sneaking them around all the places other nobles might hang out to avoid a confrontation. We ended up back at the entrance to the servants' quarters, without him figuring out I was tailing him, and he seemed to drop whatever guard he might have had up. Silencing the lady (I think Takuya called her Maria) with a hand, I followed him. Passing several doors in the hallway, he finally stopped at one and opened it, leading his tired charges into it.

I was standing just outside to wait for Takuya when I heard something I could never have imagined; he was singing. It might have seemed laughable if not for the fact that he was very _good_ at it, good enough to make me realize after a short moment had passed that I was holding my breath. I tried to will my heart to quiet its pounding because it was drowning out the intoxicating lyrics, but that just made me realize that my heart really was pounding quite hard. It shouldn't be doing that! Not now, at least, and not to this guy.

Blood rushed to my cheeks as my head discerned just what this development meant. There was no way around it, I liked Takuya. After all my grumblings and denials I actually had feelings for another guy. Backing up slowly as the lyrics started to die down in strength, signally the end of the song, I made sure I was a couple doors down before I turned and ran. Maybe if I moved fast enough I could leave these feelings behind. It was a useless effort, for you can't outrun love, and yes, I figured my feelings had probably grown to be that strong. I cared about any little thing he did, forgave him a lot faster than anyone else. I wanted to know more about him and felt more relief whenever I learned more about his past or figure out one of his funny quirks.

Sneaking into my room, I tried not to wake Takeru as I climbed into bed, hoping a good night's rest would tell me how to deal with these complicated, and difficult, emotions.

* * *

I hope that was long enough to help quench a thirst long overdo. I have been in the mood to write lately, though, so as long as that keeps up I will be typing out chapters _much faster_. I'm so happy to finally be able to write again, too.


	17. Chapter 15: Promises

After just over three and a half months, I can now give you the next chapter. I hope I'm not jumping the gun by saying that I'm out of my writing slump (finally! Creativity is a such a bitch when she leaves), but 3 chapters in 2 weeks seems pretty good to me, granted they are all for different stories. I have also come up with a few new story ideas, which is usually a good sign.

Also, I can't remember if I did ages before in this story, but Kouji is older than Takuya by about 2 months. If I did mention it somewhere before and had it opposite then I'm sorry. I guess this story will have a small continuity problem then...

**I do not own Digimon :'(  
**

* * *

**Chapter 15: Promises  
**

(Kouji's POV)

Takeru hadn't asked any questions the next morning, but I could see them in his expressions and actions. He kept giving me raised eyebrows and curious side glances, the silent pesterings slowly getting on my already short nerves. Lack of sleep will do that to you.

It must have been quite obvious that I hadn't gotten a wink of sleep the night before, because it seemed like everyone wanted to provoke me in some way. Despite the obvious scowl on my face and the dark circles under my eyes, I had no less than seven people bother me before the first class even started. Kouichi was the first to actually say something, asking sincerely as he passed by me on his way to his seat during breakfast if something was wrong because I didn't look too well. I just brushed him off and tried to go back to my food, but others had a different idea. Takuya and Taichi were their normal insensitive selves, poking fun at the manners that had been drilled into my head since I was born. If he wasn't raised in a barn Takuya might have learned some of them too. As for Taichi, he was a lost cause; just ask his boyfriend. I snapped after just a few minutes, reaching across Yamato to my right and smacking the older brunette on the back of the head hard. Laughing so hard he wasn't expecting my retaliation, he lurched forwards and face planted into his plate. Sitting back up and looking at me quite shocked, I couldn't help but chuckle as I watched small pieces of his breakfast fall back to plate.

The humor had lifted my spirits a bit, but at some point you have to come back to earth and for me it was a lot sooner than I would have desired. I'm not sure exactly how long she was standing there, but it was long enough for her to have seen the aforementioned events. Slinging her arms around my neck and invading my personal space, Izumi cooed in my ear, "I don't think it's funny, Kouji dear. I find it quite rude of that lowly duke's son to ridicule you like that. The blonde freak should keep his mutt on a leash if he's planning on keeping the beast. And that title-less mongrel should be grateful you're even willing to be seen with him. They really don't understand you like I do." Her words were really quite sickening to my ears and her insults to my friends were more than my sleep-deprived and stressed-out mind was willing to handle.

I grabbed her wrist with what I realized in hindsight was more force than necessary, twisting it enough to make her release me. I had no desire to deal with her antics, and I let that be known clearly to her. Shooting Izumi a very icy glare, I said coldly, "I do not have the patience to deal with you today. Leave, before I make you." She had a dazed look on her face as he silently (for once) left, and it was only then that I regretted losing my cool; I had an image to keep up after all. My callousness seemed to shock the two mocking me as well, for they looked at me wide eyed for a moment before quickly going back to their food. Suddenly feeling awkward, I decided to follow suit.

A tap on my shoulder made me look up into the face of my twin. "I will ask you again," he whispered, the others having resumed talking so we wouldn't be heard. "Is something wrong?"

I tried to look him in the eye and say I was perfectly fine, but for a reason we both knew I kept looking everywhere but his eyes; I was lying. Oceanic pools so very similar to my own seemed to drill into my skull as they waited for an answer. "After breakfast, before class," I said finally after a few awkward moments. Count on my brother to get the truth out of me.

No longer hungry, I pushed my breakfast around on my plate for a few seconds until I heard the quiet chuckling to my side. "Still letting Kouichi push you around?" Yamato asked, earning him my best glare. Well, best at that moment. Judging by the increased volume in his laugh it must have looked pretty pathetic. To save myself from any more embarrassment, I got up suddenly and grabbed Kouichi roughly by the upper arm. I drug my brother out of there quickly, trying to get away before anyone could follow. I failed… The messy mop of brunette hair I was really trying to avoid caught up to us less than a third of the way to Kouichi's room.

"Wait up, Kouji," he called, coming up beside us. I vaguely realized his footsteps here tapping loudly on the stone floor instead of thudding quietly on the carpet, but that wasn't at the forefront of my mind at the time. I was unjustly irate at him (a combination of thoughts of him keeping me up last night and everyone not leaving me alone this morning) and didn't want to snap in his face. I knew talking to my brother about it would calm me down, but I needed to be able to talk to him, first.

"I need to talk to my brother about something," aforementioned brother said, cutting me off before I could say something I'd regret. There were times I was really grateful he could read me so well. But considering that meant I couldn't get away with anything there were times I wasn't so grateful as well.

When Takuya didn't show any signs of turning and leaving, Kouichi added, "Alone, please." His smile seemed to disarm my best friend well, and judging by his goofy expression (what the hell was I drawn to in him?) he didn't suspect anything.

"Okay!" he cheered, waving back at us as he ran down the hallway. Maybe it was his innocence. Or his kindness and sincerity. He wasn't bad looking either. And the more I let my thoughts roam the hotter my cheeks got, so I swiftly shoved them away. It didn't really matter what attracted me. I was, and there was no way around it.

* * *

(Kouichi's POV)

I could barely contain my chuckles on the way to my room. If I had had any doubts about what was bothering my twin before they were now completely dissolved. It took a lot to break through his emotional barrier, but once there was a crack everything just started spilling out. And Takuya had been slowly chipping away at it since the two had become close several months before.

Unlocking my door, I was kind of surprised to see my roommate was still there. He looked up at me curiously, barely even noticing that Kouji had pushed passed me and sat down on my bed. "Koushirou, would it be possible for you to leave for a little bit?" I asked politely, hoping he wasn't working on some sort of major project. He didn't give me the disappointed expression I had seen last time, so I guessed it was nothing too particular that he was working on.

Dropping a small device in my hand as he walked passed me, my red haired friend said, "Send me a wave when you're done. I'm gonna go see someone since I have time."

"I will, thanks," I replied, closing the door behind him. Kouji was looking at me strangely, and I could only guess it was because of Koushirou's comment. Holding up the small item, I explained, "I can send him a wave of magical energy through this. He's still experimenting with it, though. No complex messages or anything, just a confirmation of something set by the people who have them." He still looked confused, but then again, my brother never did care to dabble in magic artifacts. "Now, do you want to talk about what is wrong?"

He sighed long and loud, diverting his gaze to the floor. Grinding his palms into his eyes, Kouji groans, "No, not really…" This was followed by another sigh and, "I really should, though, shouldn't I?"

I did what I could to calm my brother down, rubbing gently circles into the taught muscles on his upper back and replying sweetly with, "It will help. You've always been one that copes better once you get things out."

A third sigh and he looked up at me with a sidelong glance. "I know," he said defeatedly, massaging the pressure point on the bridge of his nose. "Look… just promise me a couple things," he continued, eyes focused on the floor so he couldn't see me nod my consent. "First of all… don't laugh, or say 'I told you so,' or anything along those lines. And second… well… just don't… tell… anyone, okay?" The pauses, the nervousness, the sound of surrender in his tone, all of it added up to make the normally stoic and confident teenager seem quite pitiful and frail. He may be strong and rigid in the face of a more skilled adversary, but my brother's greatest, most powerful enemy was much closer to home; his own emotions.

"I promise," I stated sincerely, holding my hands in my lap so as to not invade in on him and give him the space to speak. He looked very strained as he was trying to find the right words to use.

After a few moments, and what I thought might be him changing his mind, he finally started with, "You promise you won't say anything?" Another nod on my part, one he was looking at this time, and he seemed to gain just enough confidence to continue. "I couldn't get to sleep last night. Every time I tried _something_ else popped into my head," he explained, putting a particular emphasis on 'something' that I didn't miss. I just nodded to tell him to go on, that I was listening and keeping my mouth shut so he could finish. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he said quickly, "I couldn't get Takuya off of my mind. It was like the sudden realization that I like him made me want to go over everything I knew about him, like I was trying to figure out why I liked him. Hey, you promised!" he yelled, glaring at the smile on my face.

I held my hands up defensively, trying to be as disarming as possible. "Th-this isn't an I-told-you-so smile," I started, scooting away from his raised fist. "This is an I-knew-it-all-along smile. It's not meant to rub anything in your face. I'm just happy you finally figured it out yourself. I would have told you before but I knew there was no way you'd believe me."

It didn't seem to quell his anger much, but at least he lowered his fist. His expression then changed to something akin to fear and he hid his face in his hands. "Was it really that obvious and I just didn't know about it?" he asked.

"No, not at all," I replied, scooting back over and patting him on the back. "I just know you. I had to learn how to read you from a very young age because you never were one to open up until you absolutely had to. Dad raised you that way."

"I can agree with you there," Kouji said, shaking his head a little at his own dismay. "I've been trying to figure out myself just what I like about him. I mean he's loud, and obnoxious, and overly… touchy-feely. He lied to us and always holds back in training. He's younger than me, secretive—I know he hasn't told us everything yet—annoyingly cheery."

"And he's a guy?" I supplied, trying to contain my smirk.

"Yeah, and he's a guy. Hey! You said you wouldn't butt in like that!" he attacked, not particularly liking the expression on my face.

Chuckling nervously, I put my hands up to protect my face as I said, "I was just trying to help. You hadn't mentioned it yet, though, so I was putting it in there for you." I didn't really expect him to hit me, my arms were a defense for the just-in-case scenario.

I was expecting some sort of comeback, but he didn't seem to have one. The little spat must have helped relieve the tension, for he seemed to sober up completely afterwards. "I don't know, maybe I see what I wish I could be in him," Kouji somberly stated, resting his elbows on his knees and looking at the floor. "Carefree, straightforward, confident. Kind."

"Who says you aren't those?" I asked, leaning forward so I could look at his face. "Okay, I'll give you the straightforward one, and I guess carefree as well—Dad hasn't really given you the chance to be that one—but you are kind. I have seem your compassion, and your confidence. You are greater than you give yourself credit for. What was that?" I asked, unable to understand something he mumbled under his breath.

"And more insecure than you take into account," he repeated, earning him a hard slap on the face.

I hated it when my brother spoke poorly of himself, and I wasn't about to let him this time. "Insecurities lead to growth, so long as you don't let them rule you. Think of how Takuya must have felt when he first came here, a commoner surrounded by lords and dukes. And royalty. But you know what? He is the only one who has ever managed to break through your defenses. I think that is what first drew you towards him; the sincerity that slipped through the cracks of your impenetrable shell. That's what made you want to be friends with him in the first place. Everything else just fell into place afterwards."

He gave me one of his 'you're not helping' looks, shaking his head a bit and saying, "I thought you were going to give me some advice."

"And I will," I replied, pulling him into one of those brotherly hugs I knew he wouldn't admit he needed. "You have to sort through your feelings yourself, though you have already done a pretty good job of it. So my advice to you is this; ask him out."

This suddenly went from quiet and calm to noisy and heated. "What!" he yelled, jumping up and looking at me like I had sprouted a second head. "Are you insane or has your brain just stopped working? I can't just go and ask my best friend, my best _male_ friend at that, to go out with me."

Standing up myself, I tried to calm him down. "Look, I'm just saying that he might like you too, right?" I asked, placing both hands on his shoulders in an attempt to keep him still. When you are a Mage and your brother is a very skill Page that doesn't work so well, though. He easily threw me off. "A-and even if he doesn't do you think Takuya will hold it against you?"

"I've come to the conclusion that you're crazy," he said, hyperactively pacing the room. Okay, maybe the direct approach wasn't the best idea ever. "The chance that he'll just happen to like me too are slim to none, okay."

"But you'll never know if you don't ask," I tried again, getting the same head shake and 'you're crazy' look. It didn't look like it was working. "Look, just… think about what I said, okay? You never know."

He nodded and then looked at the clock in my room. "I'm going to get to class. Maybe I can take a short nap before it starts," he said, opening the door. "Don't tell anyone. You promised," he added, closing the door.

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I found myself not liking the situation I was in. Why did they both have to make me promise not to tell the other? If only those two weren't so stubborn. Shaking my head, I knew that I wouldn't be able to get Takuya to make the first move, either. I only had a few options, and I didn't care much for any of them. Still, one was a bit better than the other. Picking up Koushirou's device from where I had left it on my bedside table, I signaled to him that I was done talking to my brother. And just to let him know I wanted him to come back, I sent a couple more magic flares in his direction.

* * *

What I was about to do would break both of my promises, I knew that, but I didn't have anywhere else to turn. Whenever something truly stumped me I could normally count on Koushirou to help me through it. But still, telling him the problem would mean breaking my promise to my best friend and to my brother. The former I bet would let it slide, but Kouji… he wouldn't let me live it down for weeks, at the very least.

"What was so urgent that you zapped me three times?" my red-haired roommate asked, voice a mixture of irritation and curiosity. I must have pulled him away from something important, and I had a pretty good guess of what it was. Still, it wasn't Koushirou's relationship that I was worried about.

"I need your help," I said taking a seat on my bed and motioning towards my desk chair.

That piqued his interest for I rarely asked for his help. Turning the chair so he could sit in it backwards and rest his arms on the backrest, he asked, "What's the problem?"

"It's Kouji and Takuya," I said after a short moment. I could already feel the guilt and regret welling up breaking my promises. "They have a small… problem." He leaned forward as much as he could to show he was quite interested. "Well, I wasn't to tell anyone, but I don't know what to do. You see, Takuya made me promise not to tell anyone that he loves Kouji. And Kouji just told me he has the same feelings for Takuya, but also made me promise not to tell anyone. And neither knows the other likes them, so even though the feelings are mutual they aren't together and both are too stubborn to ask the other out and have reasons for why they won't. What should I do?"

I could see the sympathy in his eyes, and I could already hear the words he was going to say based on his expression. "Unfortunately, at the moment the answer is nothing," he said, confirming my suspicions. "Let things figure themselves out for now. I would only jump in if you fear something is really going wrong."

"Like what?" I asked.

"If their tiptoeing around each other threatens to destroy the relationship they have been building up over these last months," Koushirou replied.

* * *

There was supposed to be one more scene in this chapter, but the more I got to thinking about it the more the next chapter would seem rushed if I did put it in. So i created a couple more events that could go along with the omitted scene and lengthened it out a bit.

From the looks of the timeline I have typed out there will be another **20 chapters** to this story. Enjoy!


	18. Chapter 16: Planning

I am going to try and update each story at least once every two weeks (give or take a day). Any new stories I post I will try to finish before I put any chapters up so I don't have to add any more to the cycle.

Chapter length is 2802 words.

**I do not own Digimon :'(  
**

* * *

**Chapter 16: Planning**

(Shinya's POV)

To say I was nervous would have been a serious understatement. As I slipped out from the safety of the servants' quarters I was completely terrified. Maria was at her station and eyed me curiously as I peered around the corner into the rest of the complex. Normally the only time servants wandered out of their hall was when they were on duty; there were no rules to protect them from the conniving, and sometimes quite cruel, students at the academy outside of the servants' hall when we weren't out on official business. I had heard way too many horror stories of what happened to those caught in the halls at night by some of the more vicious Knights-in-training, and did no desire to add personal experience to that list.

"Where are you headed to, squirt?" Maria asked as I stepped out into the hallway. A small chuckle escaped her lips as I jumped at her voice; I had obviously not been expecting her speak.

"I… uh… um… well… you see…" I said, stumbling over my own words. "There is this… thing I need to go do really quick. Won't take too long…"

Smiling at me kindly, she motioned for me to come over to her. Shrinking as I took the few steps to the chair she was sitting in, I expected to get in trouble for trying to sneak out. Instead, she wrapped me into a big hug and said, "Be careful around the third year's hall, they tend to be the worst." At my inquiring look, she added with another chuckle, "You're going to see your brother's friends, right?"

I nodded quickly, giving her a quick smile before taking a step back. "I need to tell them something," I said, a bit more cheer in my voice. Taking a couple more steps down the hall, I remembered something and stopped. Looking back at my boss over my shoulder, I asked, "Can you please keep this from Takuya? It's a secret."

Giving me a small nod, Maria replied, "Don't worry. My lips are sealed. Just be back before he gets off in two hours and he'll be none the wiser." I think she waved me off after that, but I only saw it for a fraction of a second out of the corner of my eye and I was in too big of a rush to turn back around and confirm it. The sooner I got through the dark, dangerous hallways to Kouji's room the better.

My bare feet made no noise on the cold tile, making me feel a little more at ease. The quiet tap-taps of booted footfalls might have drawn some unnecessary attention, so the fact that I could move noiselessly was a great weight lifted off my shoulders. The time on the wall-candles also helped boost his confidence. It was late enough that most everyone would be back in their rooms, or in their friends' rooms chatting, but not too late that those hanging with friends would already be back to their own sleeping quarters, or on their way to them.

Coming to a halt in front of a familiar door, I nervously raised my knuckles to the door. I may have met them a couple times before, my brother bringing me to see them on a few occasions in the weeks after introducing us, but that didn't make coming alone any less nerve-wracking. Stupid thoughts started flitting through my head, things such as 'what if I remembered the room number wrong' or 'what if they are in Yamato's room?' I had only been shown to Kouji's room (it was still difficult to not use their titles) so if they weren't in there I'd have no choice but to go back and try again later. But it had already taken all of my courage just to make it this far.

"Shinya, right?" a cool voice behind me asked, making me jump. I was supposed to be alone! "Ken," the blue-haired, violet-eyed teen provided when I found myself lost for words. "If you're looking for everyone they're inside." Without any further words, he walked passed me and opened the door, a bright, yellow light streaming into the darkened hallway. The person closest to the door looked at it when it opened, his kind, blue eyes going passed the blue-haired Mage to land on me.

"Shinya, right?" Yamato asked, stepping aside so my companion and I could enter. Fear rooted me in the spot until the Mage grabbed my wrist and started dragging me in, then it kicked in worse and I wanted to flee. He was stopped by a cinnamon-brunette, though, Daisuke, I believe, who lectured him for his tactless method. "What are you up to?" the blonde fourth-year asked, no hint of anger or hostility.

Wringing my hands nervously, it took me a moment to find my voice. "I-I just figured th-that Takuya hadn't told you, since th-there never really was any t-time to celebrate it b-back home," I stuttered. Gods must they all stare at me like that? How could Takuya stand up to that cold, calculating look coming from the Prince? He seemed very interested in what I was saying, only making me shift and wring my hands more. "It's in th-three weeks, um, nineteen days from now… Takuya's birthday. H-he'll be fifteen."

They gave each other a look that made me think I made a mistake in telling them at first. Then they all burst into smiles. "So he didn't want us to know?" Yamato asked.

"W-well, I'm guessing, at least…" I replied, looking at the ground. "I-if he didn't tell you. B-but I figured that you would… well, you guess might…"

"That means we'll have to keep it a secret," the very spiky brunette interrupted. "We have nineteen days to figure out every detail of the party. We'll make a party to make up for the fourteen he missed."

If that smile was a fake then he was a really good actor. It eased my worries quite a bit. "Where are you going?" Prince Kouji asked as I took a couple steps back towards the door.

"I-I need to get back to my room," I said nervously. "B-before my brother gets off work and f-finds that I was here. Y-you don't want him to find out your plans, right?"

I think I might have seen a small smile cross his face for a fraction of a second, but it was gone so fast that I might have been mistaken. "Be careful around the third-year's hall," he replied as I opened the door to his room. "They're notorious for their actions against servants. Be careful around them even when on duty, they've also been known to break the rules."

"Alright, thanks," I said, giving him one last smile before I scurried off back to my room and boyfriend.

* * *

(Takuya's POV)

I could hear some sort of conversation on the other side of Yamato's door. Pressing my ear to the wooden portal, I did my best to pick up bits and pieces of their words, but it was still just a huge, garbled mess. My friends were obviously being cautious about something, overly aware as if there was something they had to hide. And I knew that the instant I opened the door they would go quiet. If I asked they would make something up, which I knew because Kouji wouldn't look at me when he wasn't telling me the truth. Realizing I wasn't going to find any answers just standing there, I quickly flung the door open in hopes of catching a word or two.

Startled by the sudden movement, they all cut off before I could catch anything at all. I'm sure my disappointment was clear on my face, but I didn't care as I stalked over to Kouji's bed and plopped down next to its owner. "What were you talking about?" I asked, tone laced with distaste.

"Nothing much," Kouji replied evenly, looking straight ahead at the white plastered wall. "Just how annoying Izumi has been lately and how I should probably get my math assignments done." His lie was quite convincing, especially since the blonde had been unusually persistent for the last few days, but I wasn't buying it. There was definitely something going on.

Sighing and falling to my back, I grumbled, "Yeah, yeah, sure. I believe you." Laying an arm over my eyes, I added to myself, "Yeah right."

I heard my crush's sigh of frustration, then felt his cold, calm hand on my shoulder. "Takuya, is there something wrong?" he asked, squeezing my shoulder in what I guess was supposed to be a comforting way. It only succeeded in making me blush lightly and turn away. "Fine, ignore me," he huffed, going back to whatever conversation Yamato, Taichi, and Sora had started.

After I determined that I wouldn't learn anything from them, I started looking back on the last few weeks. It had only been recently that I noticed them saying things behind my back. The first time it really caught my attention was about five days ago. They were at the end of one hall and I could barely tell that they were even saying anything. As I ran to catch up my echoing footsteps caught their attention. Turning to see me, every last one of them suddenly shut up. I only asked once and they brushed it off, too quickly, I might add, before we continued on our way to Yamato's room. After that, though, I noticed them keeping me out of something more and more. I had to beat my self up a bit because at first I thought my friends were poking fun at me and my background, but lately I had gotten the feeling they were protecting me from something. I felt a bit flattered, but also disappointed; what was so terrible I couldn't know about it?

I hadn't been listening to Kouji's conversation, but when I rolled over to my other side and looked up at my raven-haired friend I surprisingly met his dark blue eyes. His face flushed and he looked away, planting one last thought in my mind about their secrecy; did they learn I had fallen for Kouji?

Quickly flipping back over and closing my eyes, I tried my best to shove that thought away; I wasn't that transparent, was I?

* * *

(Kouji's POV)

My best friend had tried ambushing us many times to figure out just what our secret conversations were about. Luckily, after that first time he ambushed us and almost learned about our plans from Daisuke's overzealousness the idiot brunette had learned to keep his annoying voice down. Ken's berating seemed to get through to him, too; I think I heard something along the lines of he let it slip then he'd be sleeping alone for a month… I could have just asked him, since he was walking down the crowded street with me, but I had the feeling I didn't want to hear the answer.

Looking at a piece of parchment in his hands, tilting it both ways before turning it upside down, and shaking his head. "Do you even know where we're going?" Ken asked, crumpling up the parchment and shoving it back in my hands.

Shaking my head at him, I just grabbed his arm to keep the flood of people from separating us and drug him around a corner. "It's just there," I said, pointing to the wooden sign swinging ten feet above a door half way down the street. "And I'll be just two more shops down."

We separated at that point, my more reserved friend hugging the wall as he waded through the people while I just plowed my way through. I heard some stuck up nobility send insults my way and I seriously debated on using some of the harsh words I heard Takuya snap under his breath, but figured it would be best to just remain silent and force my way through the throng of human bodies, some noticeably larger than others. Opening the inward swinging door, I gratefully got out of the crowded street into a somewhat less crowded weapon's store.

Lines of spears and voulges and other polearms lined one wall with armor of all kinds on the other. Opposite the door was a large counter with a very muscular man and an open door leading to a back storage area. Several racks with various sizes and styles of swords and daggers stocked in every slot filled up the spaces between the walls, leaving just enough room for two people to squeeze by each other (unless they were some of the people I had seen out on the street). Several really did look quite appealing, but I was here for another reason. Thankful for once that I wasn't a broad, burly teen, I was able to quickly make my way around the people admiring the merchandise to the counter.

Leaning into the counter and resting my arms on them, I tapped the hard wood a couple times to get the muscular shop owner's attention. He took one look at me and smiled, recognizing me immediately. "Taki, get that package!" he yelled to the back. "And be careful with the thing or it will be your head that's getting shrunk to make a charm next!"

I could barely hear a very bored voice holler back, "Yeah, yeah, I get it."

"It'll be out here in just a moment, Your Highness," the man said to me, looking quite thankful that another customer distracted him from his kingdom's future ruler.

Silently groaning at my title, I lazily rested my head on my hands at I waited, letting my mind wander back to a particularly difficult problem I had; my feelings. Ever since I was made aware of them I was finding it harder to keep my cool around a particular brown-eyed brunette. Where I used to be able to look him in the eye and lie to his face I now found my face growing extremely hot and my heart beat faster. To keep up my cold mask I would have to look away from him. These pesky emotions were really starting to get to me, and the more I tried to hide them the more they interfered with my life. I was kind of embarrassed to say it, but I was starting to think that maybe my twin was right and I should just come out and tell Takuya. An image of Yamato and Taichi laughing popped in my head at that point and reminded me of one of the reason I hadn't confessed yet; As soon as they figured it out I would never live it down.

The voice from the background finally appeared from the backroom, carrying a wooden box around three feet long and very narrow. "This is the one, right boss?" the young man asked, carefully placing it just to the burly man's arm.

He turned to face his scrawnier employee, nodding to the nineteen- or twenty-year-old before motioning for him to go back and continue whatever he had been doing before he was called. Giving the older male a disgruntled sigh, the young man grudgingly headed back into the storage room.

Sliding the box towards me, he motioned for me to check the merchandise. Unlatching the lid, I opened it and gazed in to the padded interior. Smiling quite satisfied, I untied my purse from my belt and deposited its contents onto the wood. Sifting through the coins that clinked dully on the counter, I picked up a few gold pieces and replaced them in the leather pouch. "That should be the rest of the payment for this," I said. He grabbed up the coins and dropped them into the pocket on the front of his forge apron and nodded. Chuckling to myself as I took my package and headed towards the door, it was not lost on me that the man was glad to have the Prince out of his store; Royals were associated with good just as much as we were associated with trouble.

Merging with the people already swarming the streets, I headed back towards the book store Ken was in. Almost as if he was psychically watching me, the bluenette exited just as I was approaching, holding a very thick book in his hands and looking as if he had discovered Atlantis. Holding it to his chest with one hand he grabbed my sleeve with the other to make sure he didn't get lost on the way back to the Academy. Showing just as much importance to the package I had picked up, I looked towards the tall building with anticipation. Just three more days…

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Gods I am really running out of things to say in these author's notes.

As always, reviews are luffed and appreciated!


	19. Chapter 17: Surprises

Writing about doing the exact same action several in one short section is not the easiest to do without being repetitive, obnoxious, or sounding just plain stupid. I have decided that I do not like present opening scenes...

I come baring a gift of 4345 words.

**I do not own Digimon :'(  
**

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**Chapter 17: Surprises**

(Takuya's POV)

"Caught you!" I yelled, tackling my raven-haired friend as he rounded the corner. We hit the hard stone floor with a dull thud, my arms surrounding him like a cage with one pinned underneath his body. Grimacing at the ache radiating from his back and head where he hit the floor, it was only at that point that I realized I just capturing him would have sufficed. The angry glare directed right at me was unnerving, but I was determined to not back down. For two and a half weeks he had been keeping something from me—something important by the lengths they went to keep it shushed—and I hadn't even been able to get a peep out of Daisuke, who was normally quite horrid with secrets, as was quite apparent by the fact that over half of both schools knew about his relationship with Ken a mere seventeen hours after they got together, much to Ken's chagrin. Sometimes I surprised myself with the complex words I knew. Still, back on the subject, I wasn't going to let Kouji weasel his way out of telling me this time.

"Yes, you caught me," he irately scoffed, squirming a little to see if he could get away. Finding himself thoroughly pinned, he continued, "Now what do you want? And did you really have to slam me into the ground? That fucking hurt."

I couldn't help but grin at the language he used. It seemed like I was rubbing off on him, and I couldn't help but wonder what his daddy would think if he knew the words his son had started using recently. It would probably be the same reaction he had when he first learned what the word ass meant. I learned later that Kouichi had once used it to describe him, and I don't think his twin could sit comfortably for a week after the kick he received for it. And my mind was drifting away from the events at hand again.

"You have been hiding something for over two weeks now, and I want to know what it is," I said simply, making no move to get up, or even get off of Kouji. I found I could take the moment to enjoy the contact with the person I had fallen for, using necessity as an excuse; I didn't want him to flee before he answered me, after all.

He again tried to squirm out of my grasp, but found once more that I was stronger than him. "Yeah, so maybe I am hiding something," he said, admitting it for the first time. We were making progress! "Did you have to attempt to break my spine in the process of figuring out what it was?"

Frowning a little, I replied, "You don't have to exaggerate it quite that much. I'm sorry I hurt you, but how else am supposed to be certain you won't take off before you answer me without holding you down like this?"

Shifting slightly, only a small frown on his face, he stated, "Okay, so maybe nothing is broken, but that doesn't mean it didn't hurt." He then glanced down the corridor at the two people looking at them funny. Growling, and though I wasn't sure if it was at me or them they still took off, he added, "If we really must talk about this can we at least go somewhere else?"

Giving him a skeptical look, I slowly asked, "You aren't going to run away or avoid once we go somewhere else, are you?" He scoffed and shook his head, a very unconvincing action but my heart (damn you, stop fluttering like that!) told me to believe him and I slowly released him and got to my feet. Offering a hand and helping him up, I continued, "So where to?"

"My room," he huffed, yanking his hand from my grasp and starting down the hall. I couldn't help but blush as I fell in beside him, having been unaware that I had still had a hold of his hand. Despite my embarrassment, though, I still chanced a few glances his way, noticing with some intrigue the way he worried his lower lip and was wringing his hands. He was obviously nervous about something, and it took a lot to do that to Kouji, so I caught the nervous bug too. Was it really something very bad that I didn't want to know? Shaking my head at the thought I tried to straighten up a bit. Not knowing was killing me more than knowing would, no matter what I was about to know. There was nothing that could be worse than the fears running through my head while I wondered what they were keeping a secret from me. _Kouji found out I love him and is disgusted by it and is going to feed me to the figurative sharks_, my mind supplied. Okay, maybe there were worse things. And I was starting to chicken out…

He must have noticed the turmoil on my face for the next thing I knew he was grabbing my wrist and dragging me towards his room. "You finally get me to say what is going on," he started in a frustrated growl, "I am not going to let you back out of this now!" I tried to stop, but my boots just slid on the flat stone as he continued to pull me towards the looming door. Then he knocked on the polished wood and my heart stopped dead in my chest.

Some part of me realized how strange it was for him to knock on his own door, just like how he was shoving me in front of him so I was literally an inch from the unopened portal, but then the door flew wide and the chorus of "Surprise!" met my ears. Had Kouji not been pushing on my back to hold me up I would have fallen. There was a banner run across the two headboards that said 'Happy Fifteenth Birthday, Takuya' and a small stack of wooden, (some) decorated boxes pushed against the wall between Kouji's bed and desk. Or at least where the desk would normally be because it was pulled into the middle of the room with another, heavy-parchment box on it.

Regaining some amount of strength, I put my weight back on my own feet so my raven-haired crush didn't have to carry it any more. Looking at the pure joy on my friends' faces, words failed me for a moment, and the first thing I said wasn't exactly what I would consider the most gracious. "How did you know…?" I asked in a small voice. "I-I mean, thank you, very much! But still… I never told anyone, not even Kouichi.'

"I told them," I heard my brother say, the smaller boy coming out from his hiding place behind the door. "I thought that… well… things are different here. Something like this, which we were always too busy working during or… you know… But I figured maybe we could have such luxuries… here." The fact that some detail unknown to them was passed between my brother and I was not lost on my friends, all of them catching the darker tone when my brother said 'you know,' but no one said anything on it. Taichi was the first one to speak, and it was on something else.

Slinging an arm over Shinya's shoulders, he said, "You know, you never told us your birthday pipsqueak. We'll have to give you and Tomoki a celebration, too."

"Can we continue this inside my room?" a voice behind me asked, the rest of us only then realizing Kouji and I were still in the hall. I chuckled and quickly skipped into the room, though I would deny it fervently later, throwing my arms around my little brother in an affectionate hug as Kouji entered the room and closed the door behind himself.

"Thank you," I cooed quietly, trying to hold back the tears threatening to flood out of my eyes. For fourteen birthdays I couldn't celebrate being on this earth for another year. There had been too much work to be done to waste time saying I was a year older, that I was already more fortunate than thirty-seven percent of my children in my position, who hadn't even been able to make it to ten years of age. And now I was surrounded by friends who had meticulously planned an extravagant party.

Chuckling at me, Yamato asked, "Do you think you can forgive us for being so secretive?"

Letting go of my brother so he could rejoin his boyfriend in the corner, I stood and wiped the bit of moisture forming in the corner of my eye. "Yeah, I think so," I replied, a bit of a teasing in my voice.

"Well, that doesn't mean I'm going to forgive you for introducing me to your friend, the ground," Kouji groaned, pressing both hands into the small of his back to try and crack the kink out of it as he walked over to his bed and sat down.

Giving him a small chuckle, I stated, "But they were so eager to meet you." To my surprise he returned my smile, then seemed to realize what he had just done and turned it into a scowl.

"Why don't you just start the party already? Open that box," he said, a little more commanding than I think he meant. I was kind of eager to comply, though, for I had an idea of what was in it.

Lifting the box straight up, I revealed to my delight a very intricate birthday cake. The white frosting laid perfectly over whatever flavor cake was underneath it, my body hoping to all the gods that it was chocolate. Fifteen candles were evenly spaced, falling in the spaces between the strategically placed frosting axes, maces, swords. 'Happy 15th Birthday' was written in a blue arch along the top, 'Takuya' mirroring it on the bottom. And a frosting armor was painted in the upper right of the round cake, barely a millimeter from the ruffled edge of compounding frosting. My mouth watered at just how much sugar would be in that piece, my taste buds more than willing to indulge themselves. But the only place I had ever seen anything like this was an expensive confectionary in the Market District, and the price tag that had to have come with this made me cringe. "Yamato and I made it," Hikari said happily, a broad smile on her face. I think she knew it would make me feel better.

"Kouichi, do you mind?" Yamato asked suddenly, my best friend eagerly jumping up from his seat to come over and stand by my side.

Holding one hand out towards the cake, he said in a voice that echoed slightly with magic, "Fajro!" Flames left to life on the wicks of the candles, making me jump back half a step. He chuckled slightly, saying, "Sorry, Takuya." Placing a hand on my shoulder, he added quieter so the other couldn't hear, "I know you're not too comfortable with how much we spend on things like this, but today is a day for you to enjoy. For once, let us spoil you, okay?"

Nodding slowly, I walked back over to the table and stared into the tiny flames. "I'm supposed to make a wish, right? Then blow out all the candles at once?" I asked, instinctively looking to Kouji for an answer. I could have sworn he shifted a little under my gaze, but it was probably just my imagination because he swiftly nodded and went back to watching the wall behind me intently. "Okay…" I breathed, inhaling deeply. _A kiss from Kouji…_ was the only thing my mind seemed able to form, and before it could come up with some other wish I released the air stored in my lungs. The candles whisked out in a flash, leaving behind only charred thread, melted wax, and a thin trail of smoke.

"Good job!" Daisuke cheered, nearly climbing over the chess board Ken and Koushirou were using in his attempt to get off the bed faster. "What'd you wish for? Oh, and can I have that piece?"

A tanned hand grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled him away from the cake before his fingers could get in the frosting. "For one," Taichi started, forcing his smaller doppelganger to sit on Kouji's bed, "telling someone his wish will make it not come true. And for two, Takuya gets the first piece of cake, so sit back and wait your turn."

"So where do you want your piece to come from?" Yamato asked me, holding a knife gracefully (he can make anything look graceful, even falling on his face) in his slim hand. Sheepishly, I pointed to the frosting armor and he grinned, cutting it a little bigger than I thought he would. My eyes must have looked twice as big as normal, because he said, "Don't worry if you can't finish it. Either Daisuke or Kouji will finish it for you. He may not look like it, but the Prince there is a sugar addict."

Depositing the piece on a plate, I started salivating again. I could now see just what kind of cake it was, and it was indeed chocolate. With a thick, chocolate fudge layer in the center. Snatching it up quickly, I retreated back to my usual spot on the bed next to Kouji, shielding my treat from the people around me. Taking a gracious bite, I almost melted on the spot at just how good it tasted; How could I ever go back to normal food after tasting the things available to me here?

Shinya and Tomoki got the next piece, the two deciding to share one, and then the rest of our group took turns taking slices until there was only one solitary piece left. Kouji and Daisuke looked about to go at each other's throats for it until I stepped in, offering Kouji the half of my piece I hadn't eaten. I loved it—it tasted amazing!—it was just too rich for me and I feared I'd throw up or something if I ate too much more. So Kouji got what was left of my piece and Daisuke got the thin slice left on the desk.

Clearing the tray off the desk, Yamato and Taichi gathered up the boxes sitting against the wall and piled then up near and on where the cake had been. "Time for presents," the blonde said, handing me one of the boxes.

A thick ribbon kept it from opening and in anticipation my fingers had a hard time undoing the knot. Finally working it loose, I tossed the blasted thing to the floor and threw open the lid. I pulled out the brown leather jerkin, marveling at the quality of the hide and craftsmanship put into the item. Each stick was even spaced, the intricate designs around the collar and arm holes perfectly symmetrical. It just screamed of the pride that went into making it, and the large amount of gold that had to have been needed to acquire it. My words caught in my throat and I was barely able to get out a quiet, "Thank you…"

"My dad is a leatherworker," Sora said sweetly, smiling at the awed look on my face. "I asked him to make that for me, for a friend. He was quite eager to help. Wear it for practice."

"I will…" I said, laying it out next to me as Yamato handed me the next gift. This one was much smaller and there wasn't a ribbon to undo. I was a bit confused at first, but it was quite obvious just who this gift was from. Pulling the thick book out, I held it up and gave Ken a questioning glance.

"Koushirou helped me find it," he explained, moving a knight to take one of the redhead's bishops. "It contains information on some of the rarest things in the world. I thought it fit, since you are something of a rarity yourself." I was taken aback a bit by his comment, but his small smile showed he meant everything goodheartedly. "I think the last time someone tested into this place was one-hundred-and-eighty-seven years ago. Don't ever belittle your accomplishment."

Returning his smile, I said, "Thank you." The next one was another small box.

I pulled out the small, furry charm, Jyou immediately saying, "It's supposed to bring luck. I had Kouichi charm it to make sure it wouldn't wear. Maybe it will help to keep you from having to come see me in the future because of an arrow in the arm or a severed limb."

I nodded my thanks to the two this time, tying the lucky rabbit's foot to my belt and then taking the next, heavier box from Yamato. "This one is from the rest of us. Well, mostly," he said. "Kouji wanted to get you something special so he's not a part of this one."

My heart fluttered involuntarily at that, my hands working feverishly to get through this present quickly so I could see what the ravenette had gotten me. I think I saw an amused smile on the blonde's face, but by that time I was too engrossed in the item in the box to fully take note. It _tink! _-ed quietly as I pulled it out, the finely meshed chainmail shining in the thick light of the room. The craftsmanship was beyond anything I had seen before, each individual link an exact copy of the ones next to it. It was thin but strong, and slid along itself with such ease it looked more like a cotton shirt of some kind than armor.

"Next year you would have gotten one similar from the school," Taichi started explaining, "But they aren't nearly as well made or efficient. I had to use one my second year and they can be restricting."

"You have one more," Yamato said before I could reply, taking the chainmail and laying it on the jerkin before handing the final box. He must have seen the shame in my eyes or something, because he added, "Stop worrying so much. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking about how much this had to have cost us. Well, stop it and just accept it, okay?"

Nodding stiffly, I turned my attention back to the long box now in my lap. The leather tying it closed was soon discarded to the floor and I was gingerly lifting the hinged lid. My palms were sweaty and my heart race, anticipating just what my crush had gotten me. Staring into the dark recessed of the wooden container, my breath caught in my throat. Shaky hands reached in to remove it from its confined, careful to not bump it against the padded interior lest I damage it somehow. Once completely free of the wood that have once contained it, I discarded the box on the floor with the rest of them.

The hilt and hand guard made up about one foot of the length. A black cloth was wrapped firmly around the hilt and secured at the top with a metal cap. The guard had a ruby imbedded in it on either side, resting in the center in line with the blade. Other gems, most likely diamonds, were set at the ends of the guard, held in what could be the claws of a dragon. The dark wood of the scabbard had been stained until was nearly as black as the night sky, a deep contrast to the gold filigree accentuating the edges as well as the guard and cap. Unsheathing about two inches of the straight blade, I admired the quality of the metal used to craft there. There were no defects, no impurities in what I could see, the edge sharpened to what could split a hair in half. As ornamental as weapon appeared, it was quite obvious it was fully functional at the same time.

Carefully sitting the blade on the bed, I turned back to my best friend. I am not entirely sure what emotions were swirling in my eyes, but I do know that I saw Kouji gulp down something that was apparently stuck in his throat and that it took all of my self-control to not tackle him a second time. "Thank you…" I breathed, voice barely a whisper. Then I couldn't stop myself anymore, and I cried.

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(Kouji's POV)

I hadn't expected Takuya to break down like that, no one did. The emotional pain and stress he had felt for fourteen years of his life just poured out all at once now that he had seen what he had been missing out on before he came here. I had quickly rushed to his side and comforted him with gently pats on the back until he finally calmed down several minutes later. He had thanked me again and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, jokingly berating himself for being such a wimp.

It was about an hour later that found us making our way towards the servants' hall, two sleepy forms hitching a ride on our backs. Takuya had his little brother while I was carrying the brat's boyfriend, neither awake enough to walk on their own. Depositing them on their beds, though did stir them from their slumber enough for Shinya to sleepily ask the brunette for his lullaby. He quickly turned to me with a blush on his face, saying, "S-sometimes I sing to him to get him to sleep, since Mom isn't here to do it." I smiled but kept myself from saying I already knew because that would mean I would have to admit to following him again. "I'm not that good, though…"

"Are you sure?" I asked, that part of me that had fully accepted that I loved him wanting so desperately to hear that song again.

Groaning, he replied, "You'll see…"

_"Lost in darkest blue, endless labyrinths weaving through, will you stagger on, with no star to light your way? Share with me your tears, all your troubles and deepest fears. I remember when, you chased all my shadows away. Won't you take my hand, come away with me from this land. Let me give to you, all that you have given to me. Fly horizon bound, find the moon behind darkening clouds. Even far apart, know our souls together will be. When the storm draws nigh, dreams will shatter before your eyes. Know that you're not alone. When the battle starts, I will comfort your restless heart. You'll know that you are home. When your stars stop shining, endless vines around you winding. Know that you're not alone. I will give my all, so your tears will no longer fall, down, down on sorrows stone. Know that you're not alone…"_

His melodic voice affected me a lot more than I wanted to admit, and I closed my eyes against the feelings welling up in my stomach. "You're right, you suck," I said jokingly, standing and moving away from him before I did something stupid. "Seriously, though, you are a lot better than you give yourself credit for."

"Is that a compliment?" he asked quietly, a mischievous smirk on his face as he steered me out of the room and closed the door. "I didn't know you had it in you to praise someone."

Halfway down the hall I made the mistake of looking at him. The content smile on his face was more than my fluttering heart could handle, and I did something I had been trying to avoid. Acting on impulse, I pushed my brown-haired best friend against the wall, pinning his shoulders to the cold, flat surface behind him. Just as he was about to open his mouth to speak I stopped him with my own, plastering our lips together sloppily. I had never kissed someone before, never indulged in such things because there was never someone I wanted to indulge it with, and now that inexperience was a little unnerving. I wasn't entirely sure I was doing it right, but I did know that the body beneath mine was completely rigid and unresponsive.

Fear replaced adrenaline in those few seconds, my heart sinking into the pit of my stomach as my head screamed at me. What had I just done? Well, that was an easy question; I had kissed Takuya. And he hadn't responded at all. Pulling away quickly, I took off down the hall without looking at him. I was too embarrassed and hurt to let him see the emotions running rampant in my eyes. For a brief moment I had actually thought that maybe Kouichi was right, that possibly Takuya could like me in return. How could I be so stupid?

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(Takuya's POV)

It happened so fast my mind didn't have time to register it. One second we were walking and the next I was pinned between Kouji's mouth and the cold, stone wall. I had been so shocked I wasn't able to do anything in the two or three seconds that our lips were connected, and then he pulled away so fast it had to have been in disgust and took off down the hall with angry-sounding footsteps.

Shaking slightly, I couldn't will myself to move, or even stay standing. As my knees gave out beneath me my mind solemnly said, _I got my wish alright, not that the aftereffects were as pleasant as I had imagined…_ I was in such shock that it took me nearly twenty minutes to gather the energy to stand. And I knew that if I wanted to salvage our friendship I would have to squash these feelings I had for him. I had known that from the beginning anyway; there was no way he could be with me…

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Me and cliffhangers and angst. I'm sure you all love me by this point. XD

Just thought I'd say that the small amount of presents was kind of a way to make Takuya not feel quite so bad. Because that way pretty much all the things they got him were for practical purposes and then he wouldn't be completely depressed at the large amount of gold they spent on what a commoner could see as 'useless gifts.'


	20. Chapter 18: Loophole

One day before 1 year has passed, and I bring you the end of the cliffhanger of Chapter 17. I did not mean for it to take this long to get the next update in. I am a bit leery with how... negative... Kouji and Takuya are in this, and they may be a bit OOC, but I think it works out in the end. Any thoughts on their behavior would be appreciated.

This chapter ended up being 5627 words long... a lot longer than I had expected. That is pretty much twice as long as usual for this story.

**I do not own Digimon :'(**

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**Chapter 18: Loophole**

(Kouichi's POV)

I noticed the problem immediately when I entered the cafeteria. It was strangely quiet. At almost any given point during breakfast there would be the loud chatter from the three spiky-haired males at out table, and since I was particularly late getting in for breakfast they should have gone off on some strange tangent by this point, but they were strangely muted. Glancing over at them on my way to get my food I could easily see why. Something must have gone horribly wrong last night after my brother followed my best friend, for the latter had taken up my usual seat between Ken and Takeru. Daisuke had the decency to scoot towards my brother a little to keep Izumi from trying to take the empty space, but it didn't hide the fact that Takuya had mysteriously abandoned his usual seat. No doubt the air around the table was thick and the silence was due to the uninvolved parties trying to determine what had caused the rift between the two seemingly inseparable Pages. Rubbing the sleepiness out of my eyes before gathering up my tray (it had to be on a morning after I stayed up most of the night finishing a project), I made my way over to see if I could mend the damage my idiotic brother had most likely caused.

With a nervous smile on my face, I nudged my cinnamon-brunette friend's shoulder to ask him to move over slightly and took up the place beside my twin. Taking a gracious bite, I took the time to study my mirror's face. His brows were knit closer together than normal and he seemed to be trying to drill a hole in the table with his eyes. He had a mouthful of food in one cheek, but looked too distracted to bother chewing or swallowing it, the fork in his hand absently poking at the barely-touched scrambled eggs on his tray. Deep in his eyes I could barely make out some inner turmoil, that is through the fire of anger that was right on the surface. Turning my attention to the boy across the table, Takuya wouldn't meet my eyes either. He was also looking at the table, but instead of trying to incinerate it with his mind it was like he was trying to read it. He was concentrating so intently on the hard wood I was starting to wonder if there some invisible, secret message buried in the depth of its line. Most troubling, though, was the lip he was worrying in his mouth and his nearly full tray. He had barely touched his food. This was not going to be easy. Gulping down what I hoped wouldn't be the only bite of breakfast I got that morning, I steeled myself for facing my brother first.

Using that telepathy twins always seemed to have, Kouji shot me one of the fiercest glares I've ever seen the instant I went to open my mouth. The more plausible explanation is he was watching me out of the corner of his eye, by being a Mage I liked the idea of Twin-Sense better. That and there had been several times when he could sense I was in danger even when I over a mile away. Still, whatever caused him to look over at me, it shut me up for a good few minutes and sent terrified shivers down my spine; That stare was made up of two parts anger, and one of those parts was directed at me. Regaining my composure I decided to try again, and this time my brother didn't shoot me down. "Kouji, do you want to tell me what's wrong?" I asked quietly, noticing three of the other five people at the table lean in closer to hear better. Sending them a glare of my own, which wasn't nearly as effective as my counterpart's, I mumbled "fajro" under my breath and set a small fire on each of them. Taichi quickly patted out Yamato's shoulder while the blonde smothered his lover's cuff, Ken on the other hand countering my magic with a small "akvo" (which managed to drench a little more than the intended knee of his spiky-headed boyfriend) and my glare with a more powerful one of his own. I got my point across, though, and the three snoops sat back in their seats. "Would you like to go elsewhere to talk?" I turned back to my brother and asked, receiving no response. "Look, if you are going to stay like this then Takuya—"

I was cut off as our entire table clattered loudly from Kouji forcefully standing. His knees scrapped against the wood hard enough that it would probably bruise, but he didn't flinch even a millimeter. "I'm not hungry anymore," he stated, voice flat, taking his tray and tossing the entire thing into the trash as he made his way towards the exit, letting the doors slam shut behind him.

Cringing at the harsh sound, it took me several seconds to gather the strength to stand myself. Sighing at the whole situation, I took two steps in the direction he vanished before I stopped in my tracks. Turning on my heels, I caught Daisuke in the middle of trying to steal a piece of sausage. He immediately sat back up straight and whistled innocently, as if that would convince me I hadn't seen the last two seconds. "Just a warning, I'm been researching a curse that shrinks… certain parts… of the male anatomy," I told him, watching in amusement as he and the other likely thief defensively covered their crotches. "And I haven't located the counter curse yet, so who knows how long it will last." Confident that my food would not be stolen, I quickly spun back to the door and bolted through it.

Looking left, and then right, I spotted my target about halfway down the hall. Hands in his pocket and head angled towards the floor, he didn't even look at me when my heavy footfalls slowed down beside him. "Kouji, what happened?" I asked sympathetically, sincerely concerned.

He didn't speak, just stopped and looked around at the deserted hallways. The fire had not diminished from his blue eyes, so very much like my own, and when they locked onto mine I had to swallow the lump in my painfully dry throat. "I kissed him," he whispered, voice so quiet I could barely hear him.

Had he not sounded so pained I would probably be smiling, but it was quite obvious something went wrong. _Takuya talked about trying to get over Kouji_, my mind supplied, _he couldn't have succeeded so soon, could he?_

Gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut, he continued in a much harsher, and louder tone, "I took the advice that you gave me and only succeeded in fucking things up. He just stood there like I had plunged a petrifying knife in his back."

_Petrifying?_ My thoughts echoed, filling in the empty pieces of the puzzle created by the few words my twin spoke. From my outside perspective the answer seemed so obvious, although I also had the knowledge that my best friend had fallen for my brother, but it still seemed like the truth should be pretty easily determined even from Kouji's point of view. After all, he had just said it! "Did you never think that maybe you had just surprised him?" I asked in my nicest voice. I wanted to roll my eyes at his stupidity, but I knew that such an action would only work in setting him off.

"He didn't react _at all_," he retorted, although with a lot less venom than he had spat at me with his previous sentences. "He didn't say anything or move or… anything, alright?! I tried to show him how I felt and he just shot me down!" His voice had once again lowered into a whisper just in case someone was waiting around a corner and listening in.

"Why didn't you just tell him?" I inquired, although I already had a pretty good idea why. "I mean, wouldn't it have been a bit less… startling?"

He shook his head at me. "You don't get it," he said simply, the emotional pain he was feeling touching the edges of his words. "I screwed up. It's over. You weren't there, so you don't know."

"But—" I tried, but couldn't get more than that word out before I was cut off.

"Kouichi! You were wrong," he stated. "He doesn't like me." And he continued down the hall in the direction of his first class. I only realized then I was about to break my promise to Takuya and tell him what he had said to me. Not that words would do much good at this moment. Maybe I could get through to Takuya easier. With that thought in my head I turned around and headed back towards the cafeteria.

Approaching the table, I was instantly greeted by a chorused, "I swear I didn't touch your food!" from Taichi and Daisuke. Takuya didn't join in on it because had hadn't even gotten through half of what he had picked up for breakfast. Judging by his expression, it certainly looked like he was in just as much emotional pain as my brother. To be precise, it looked like he was the one who had been rejected, not Kouji. And if my idiot twin had just taken the time to look at the other boy he'd have realized that.

Having to laugh at the two Knights-in-training antics, I couldn't resist telling them, "I lied about the curse." Giving Ken a wink as they gave a sigh of relief, I was quite happy to see his smirk.

"The curse does exist, though," he stated nonchalantly, taking a small bite of scrambled eggs. The uneasy stares they gave him did quick work on his lie, though, and soon he started laughing. "It's a joke, a joke," he added, unable to stop the light, airy giggles even when his boyfriend took him in a headlock.

As the laughter died down I turned my attention to the other member of the idiot couple (well, the other other idiot couple because Taichi and Yamato and Daisuke and Ken came before Takuya and my brother). "Takuya—" and being interrupted was my theme today, because at his name he, too, stood up.

"I'm not hungry either," he said, sliding the rest of him meal into the center of the table. "Go ahead and have it, you two."

_Two strikes_, I thought. _One more and I'm out… Better make it count._ Taking a small bite, I found to my displeasure that it had turned cold over my conversation with Kouji. Sighing at the Murphy's morning this was turning out to be, I lifted my tray up with one hand and held the other underneath it, palm up. "Fajro," I muttered, a small flame appearing in my hand.

"You really shouldn't use magic so frivolously," Ken berated, but then he lifted the tray Daisuke was pillaging and did the same for a few seconds to reheat it.

Satisfied that I could at least have a hot meal, I replaced my tray on the dark wood and turned to the younger of the two couples at the table. "Daisuke, Takeru, I have a favor to ask of you two," I said, and instantly they were paying attention. "I just want you to watch those two for me today. Don't approach them, alright, just observe. Tonight, after they leave, I want to know what went on today. Maybe I can come up with a way to fix this misunderstanding…" They both swiftly nodded, and thankfully didn't try to pester out of me more of what this 'misunderstanding' was I seemed to know so much about.

* * *

(Takuya's POV)

I don't think he looked at me once the entire day. Maybe a quick glance this morning when I entered the cafeteria, but as soon as he realized it was me he immediately went to ignoring me. He didn't say anything when I sat across the table from him in what was usually his brother's spot, instead only making the others look between us suspiciously. Surprisingly, they only asked us if something was wrong once, and then dropped the issue and tried to go back to their own conversations. The air between us was too thick, though, and anything they said soon became strained and died out, just making me feel even guiltier.

Then Kouichi showed up. For a few moments I was a little hopeful that things would get fixed, though I made sure to not show it, since my other best friend (might be my only best friend, now) seemed extremely adept at solving problems. Then he said my name, and Kouji immediately stood. My tray rattled a little from the force of his legs hitting the table, and I tried not to gulp down the sticky mess of phlegm stuck at the back of my throat. It wasn't until after the door slammed closed that I dared to move, thinking, _That's what he thinks of me…_

And now… I could do nothing but stare at his back as he walked away. The instructor had just told us to pair up for sparring, and without even looking in my direction Kouji had snatched up Takeru's wrist. Daisuke, the blonde's usual partner, looked kind of dumbfounded as the two walked directly away from both of us, and glancing around I noticed the rest of our class quickly pairing off so none of them would get stuck with me. "Hey, let's find some place to practice before all the good ones are taken," I heard from my left, my mind needing a short moment to register that it was Daisuke talking to me.

"Alright," I replied, trying to sound cheery. I don't think I fooled him in the least, not that it was difficult to tell that I was out of it. I was trying to keep my thoughts from being too depressive, but the total rejection I was feeling made that difficult. It would have been one thing if he just told me he didn't, and would never, feel that way about me, but he hadn't. He had kissed me—absently I heard the teacher yell to start and I subconsciously parried one of Daisuke's swings—and then stomped off as if trying to pound the memory in the ground. At first I couldn't figure out why he would be so mad at me, but be just fine with Daisuke's and Taichi's relationships—I ducked under a well-timed swing and lunged forward slightly, rolling to the side to avoid the downward chop Daisuke countered with. But the answer to that wasn't so difficult to find, either. By liking him I had involved Kouji is something he didn't like. It wasn't because I was attracted to men, it's because I was attracted to him. Had it been Takeru or Kouichi (although he might not have taken well to me liking his brother, either) he probably wouldn't have reacted so harshly, but there was no way I could determine that now—I ducked right to avoid a forward thrust, slapping the sword with my bare hand and making it sting slightly.

"Shit!" I heard yelled from across the field, snapping me out of my musings. I turned to look in the direction of the voice, and one of the few other people there that used such words, finding it quite surprising that Kouji was sitting squarely on his rump with his practice sword a good two feet from his hand. I wasn't entirely sure how Takeru managed to overbalance him like that, and I didn't really have time to figure out.

"Keep your eyes on your opponent," my partner remarked smugly, bringing his sword in line for my jugular vein. Looking back on it, it was pretty obvious he was just going for the "kill" position, but my reflexed reacted on their own and I threw my weight to the side. Grabbing his wrist with a grip strong enough to make him yelp slightly, I threw him over my shoulder onto his back as I stood from my roll, one hand instantly going for his throat.

Looking up at me dazed, and looking around to see those who had watched the exchange giving me the same, scared look they had the day after I took out Ato, I hurriedly looked back to my friend and stuttered, "S-s-sorry." I really had to pay more attention. If I let my reflexes take over like that again I could seriously hurt my friend.

* * *

(Kouichi's POV)

I sat on my bed rubbing my weary eyes, waiting patiently for my roommate to return from the place he always vanished to. I felt kind of bad for pulling him away from there again, but he was the only one I could talk to right now. _"It's alright, Kouichi," Takuya said to me as I caught up with him in the hall._ I had tried to ask him about what had caused the rift between him and my brother, but he wasn't really too willing to divulge much. _"It can't be helped if he has a problem with it," he continued, stopping and shoving both hands in his pockets. "I should have just locked these feelings away before they got out of hand and caused these problems. Maybe once he cools down I can try to mend things a bit. I hope I can at least salvage some of our friendship." _He was smiling but his eyes were closed, and I could tell by the slight quiver in his bottom lip that he was desperate to hide the hurt he was feeling from me. _"I'm kinda tired right now, so I'm just gonna head back to my room. Mind telling the others for me?"_

At that moment I heard the door open and I looked up to see my redheaded mentor walk in. The slight annoyance visible in his features (I must have interrupted something again) disappeared the instant he looked at me, so I must have looked pretty horrible myself. Without a second thought, he sat next to me on my bed and asked, "Your brother and Takuya again?"

I nodded and proceeded to explain to him what had happened today. I started with the strange behavior during breakfast, following my twin out into the hall and his outburst. I relayed to him what Daisuke had told me about their training that day, including that he had been on the losing end of Takeru's sword quite a few more times than he was on the winning end, and my conversation with Takuya in the hall near Yamato's room. "When I told everyone that Takuya wasn't coming today he immediately closed off again, biting the first joint in his left pointer finger like he always does when something bothers him," I concluded, mimicking my brother's actions to show him what I meant.

After a moment of silence, Koushirou shook his head. "Words are obviously not getting through to them," he stated, already reading my next thought. "Even if you break your promise to them, although you already have just by talking to me, but that's not the point, and tell them the truth, they won't believe you. Both believe they have wronged the other, and by sidestepping the issue while trying to figure out how to resolve it they are only making it worse, making the other believe they are angry with them."

"And with the foul mood my brother is in I'm pretty sure he will literally bite my head off if he learns I told you about all this," I added, just placing a dark cloud over myself as well. Letting my head fall forward into my lap, I tried my best to just sink into my mattress and disappear. "How exactly can I help them without revealing this?"

I could almost hear the light bulb turn on over my roommate's head, and could hear it in the mischievous tone in his voice. "What exactly was your promise to them?" he asked.

Turning my head to look up at him, but not moving other than that, I replied, "To not tell anyone they liked the other. Of course these promises were made at different times."

I could follow his train of thought even before he said anything. "Then there's your loophole."

* * *

(Kouji's POV)

Even with the covers encasing my body I couldn't keep out the cold. Physically my body was warm, too warm in fact and I was sweating, but my thoughts were making me incredibly cold. It was bad enough that I had driven away my best friend, as was quite obvious by his actions the previous day, but even I knew Kouichi didn't deserve my ire. Even without him giving me the idea Takuya might like me back I would have stupidly kissed him in that hallway. I was just using my brother as an excuse to try and divert my anger away from myself, which only succeeded in getting myself even more pissed. The distraction had actually caused me to slip up so horribly that I was no match for Takeru yesterday (not that the other boy was bad, just that he shouldn't have been able to down me so easily).

Shaking my head and swiftly sitting up in my bed, making the covers half fly off my lap, I knew one of the things I had to do. I might not be able to fix things up with Takuya immediately, for he didn't seem to know how to face me after what I had done, but I knew that if I apologized to my brother he'd forgive me. At the very least I had to straighten out that mess, for with his help I'd have a better chance of salvaging my friendship with Takuya. Steeling myself for one of my unaccustomed "I'm sorry"s, I jumped out of bed and over to my uniform. Pulling on the pants I nearly landed on my face as I tried to pull the cuff out from under my foot, but other than that I managed without incident.

Takeru had left a while ago, which meant Kouichi (and probably Takuya, too) would already be in the cafeteria. First class was in just half an hour, so if I wanted to get something to eat and patch things up with my twin I'd have to hurry. Swinging the door open, I came face-to-face with the person I least expected (well, second-least-expected because least expected person was Takuya); Kouichi. "Look—" I tried, but he held up a hand to silence me. Motioning for me to follow him, I silently fell into stride a step behind him.

I was so busy studying his back and the bit of his face I could see that I wasn't really paying attention to where we were going. I know several hallways passed us on either side, as well as fewer and fewer doors as we continued, but had he told me to get somewhere from that spot it would have taken me a moment just to orient myself. So when he suddenly stopped I almost wondered if he _was_ going to make find my way from there, until he simply pointed to his left. Following the direction of his finger, I barely had time to register that a door was opened before I was shoved through it and the portal closed behind me with an echoing _chik!_ of a magical lock falling to place.

The room was pretty small, maybe three by five meters, with a good half a meter taken up by shelves on the three walls. Only around a third of the space was used, housing buckets and sponges and other various cleaning supplies. Mops and brooms of various sizes leaned in corners and against the walls, leaving the two occupants of the room with about two square meters of moveable space; yes, I said _two_ occupants. This had to have been my brother's idea of a joke, locking me in a closet with Takuya. He looked up at me and met my gaze, making my face flush.

Turning back to the door before he could see my blush, I pounded on it a couple times and hollered, "Okay, Kouichi, I get it. I'll… find a way to patch things up, now can you let me out?"

"Not until you fix this mess," I heard from the other side.

"Class is going to start in fifteen minutes, and I don't particularly want to be late to Gennai's class," I stated, shivering upon remembering the punishment the last student received for being late; a report as many pages long as minutes he was late…

"Then I suggest you get to work, because that lock won't release until you two work things out," he told me, and then the other side of the door was silent.

Hitting my head against the door in frustration, I slowly turned to look back at my best friend. He seemed to be slightly horrified himself, and I could only hope that it was towards Gennai's disciplinary assignments as well.

A minute passed with neither of us making a move. I had kind of hoped that he'd be the first one to talk, to say something for me to go on, but he seemed just as reluctant to say anything as I was. But the fact is someone had to talk first, and since I had been the one who caused this whole situation I guess I kind of had to be the one to say it. Directing my gaze towards the ground, his feet barely within my peripheral vision, I inhaled deeply through my nose. "I'm sorry," our voices said simultaneously, startling both of us enough to look up at the other. "Wait, why are you apologizing?" we asked at the same time again, making both of us chuckle a bit despite the seriousness of the air around us.

We waited for the mirth to die down before we tried to speak again, and seeing as we both tried to talk at the same time again another fit of giggles almost delayed the conversation another minute. Instead, Takuya contained his laugh behind one hand and wave a motioning hand at me as if asking if I wanted to go first. Nodding my head, I took another deep breath to calm my nerves before starting. "I'm sorry," I said again, letting my back slide down the door so I was sitting on the floor opposite him. "I… shouldn't have kissed you like that. I just… did so without thinking, instead of asking you if I could first."

He had tilted his head to the side by this point, confusion knitting his brows together in an awkward fashion. He really did look cuter with a happy face on. "You mean you weren't mad at me?" he asked, and honestly I couldn't figure out where that line of thought could have come from.

"I was mad at you so I kissed you?" I asked, scratching the top of my head in hopes that maybe that would create a little more sense out of that sentence. "Why would I kiss you if I was mad?"

"I-I don't know," he stuttered, pink tinting his cheeks. "It's just, you kinda stormed off afterwards, so I thought maybe, I don't know, you found out I like you and it pissed you off."

Did I hear that right? He had mumbled it so quietly that I was certain my ears had misheard it. "Did you just say you like me?" I asked, leaning forward so that when he spoke again I could hear it better even if he muttered it to himself. Instead his head shot up and nearly collided with my nose, but that left out faces just a few centimeters apart. The answer was painted clearly in his chocolate eyes, and my brother's words from the previous day echoed in my mind, _"Did you never think that maybe you just surprised him?"_ Chuckling at myself and leaning back against the door, I couldn't help but ask out loud, "Is it really one of those clichéd things?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked me, leaning a little closer as if trying to read something in my behaviors. Honestly, I had probably had the same look in my eyes as he had in his, but while I had my brother's pesterings to help me believe it he didn't want to get his hopes up.

"I wasn't angry when I ran off," I stated, looking up at the mostly empty rack to my right. "I thought you had rejected me. And it hurt so bad that I just wanted to anywhere but where you were."

"Rejected you?" he asked. I managed to see the glimmer of hope in his eyes out of the corner of my own. "You mean that kiss was…"

"Yeah," I replied simply, a soft smile on my lips. "It was because I like you." One second passed, then two, and three. And then I found his arms wrapped around my shoulders and I could honestly say that it was one of the best things I had ever felt. Rapping my knuckles twice on the door, I asked, "Will you unlock this door now?"

I heard a chuckle that seemed a little too obnoxious to belong to my brother, but his voice followed it immediately. "It was never locked," he said.

"What?" I shouted, standing up forcefully enough to accidentally knock Takuya off of me.

"Not my fault you never tried to doorknob," he replied coolly.

Feeling my face heat up with embarrassment, I couldn't come back with an adequate retort considering that his words were correct. Instead I just glanced down at the brunette that once again had a happy smile on his face before I turned the knob to find that it was indeed unlocked. Opening the wooden portal, I started with, "I better not hear an I told you… so…" but trailed off when I found that it wasn't just Kouichi on the other side. It really hadn't been Kouichi's chuckle earlier, and at what had to be the dumbfounded look on my face Daisuke broke out into laughter so violent that he was soon on the ground clutching his sides.

"So you don't have that kind of inclination, huh?" Yamato asked me, hiding his smirk behind a delicate hand. Taichi broke out into laughter as well when I hid my head in my hands.

"I think I'll just stay in here for a while," I heard Takuya say behind me, and glancing back I could tell that his face was just as red as mine was. But like hell was I going to take this alone. Grabbing the back of his shirt I tossed him out into the hallway then stepped all the way out myself, closing the door behind me. All of our friends had managed to gather around this janitor's closet in… it looked the servant's hall behind the fourth-year hall, even Jyou and Hikari and Koushirou looking on in amusement. Well, most everyone was laughing in someway; Ken looked quite concerned that his boyfriend was almost at the point where he would stop breathing.

* * *

(Kouichi's POV)

Somehow we all had managed to get to our classes on time, and that night in Yamato's room said blonde and his lover took no time at all poking fun at the two. The new couple ambushed me afterwards, and the look on their faces when they learned that I had known about the other's feelings all along was priceless. And so as to keep my brother from pummeling me for breaking my promise I made sure to point out that he only made me promise to not tell anyone (luckily he didn't know Koushirou knew).

Speaking of my roommate, he was just about to turn off his desk light and turn in for the night. "I'm glad it worked out so well," I told him as I pulled my covers over my legs.

"They were both so hardheaded it seemed like it wouldn't for a bit there, didn't it?" he replied, chuckling quietly at what I guess was the memory of the two finding out everyone was standing in the hall.

"Yeah, it did," I agreed, smiling as I recalled just how happy (and embarrassed) Kouji looked as he held Takuya's hand. Looking back up at the red-haired Mage, I added, "And thank you, too."

Stopping just shy of turning off his lamp, and thus stopping just short of plunging the room into darkness, he said, "I'm supposed to help you. Not only as your Mage mentor but as your friend."

"Still, thank you," I reiterated. "You came to help me even though I know you don't always get to spend time with your boyfriend, and you would have probably rather spent time with him…" I trailed off when I saw the shocked look on his face. Oh, right, I wasn't supposed to know… "I-I promise I haven't told anyone about you and Jyou…" I said, hand reflexively coming up to diffuse the situation. I was a little too used to my brother's embarrassed outbursts.

"I… I didn't think anyone besides Yamato and Taichi knew…" he mumbled, quickly tapping out and the light and climbing into his own bed. I almost chuckled at him, but managed to stop just short of doing so. No need to embarrass him farther.

* * *

I had given a couple hints of JyouShirou earlier in the story, so I'm kinda curious if anyone figured it out.

Just four chapters away from one I have been very anxious to write for a while now. It's so close I can almost taste it... Another one I really want to get to is just four chapters after that (based on my synopsis timeline). And a total of 17 chapter remain (also according to that synopsis). Still so far away.


	21. Chapter 19: Trials and Tribulations

Last week (June 25-27) I went up to Oregon City with my mom for a 3 day motorcycle class to get our endorsements. We should be getting our new licenses in 2-7 days! :D I can't wait to get the stupid printed paper one out of my wallet!

It says it in the first paragraph, but this chapter is three months _after_ the last one. The beginning is in the few days between 'school years' when those who managed to remain change from the previous year's hall to the next one. It also takes place over a good 4-6 weeks, just a few scattered scenes.

Looking back at the beginning of this, it is kind of funny. When I started writing this over 3 years ago it was my least popular story. Now it is pretty much tied with The Cave for visitors, and has more reviews, favorites, and follows than it. The only thing The Cave has it beat on is Chapters and total page views (which kind of goes with having more chapters). So I want to take this small space here to thank everyone who has reviewed, favorited, followed, or simply just read this story, especially with how horrible I have sometimes been with updates. Without you guys, I wouldn't be able to call myself a writer. :)

Chapter length: 4418 words

**I do not own Digimon :'(**

* * *

**Chapter 19: Trials and Tribulations**

(Takuya's POV)

It was hard to believe three months had passed already. Although, with all of the poking and teasing we were receiving sometimes it felt like longer. Still it wasn't as bad as when we first got together. It had taken me nearly two weeks to gather the courage to hold his hand while we were just with our group of friends, and then Daisuke made such a big deal out of it that it took me another two weeks to try again. Luckily Ken kept him mostly shut this time, but occupying his mouth with his tongue. At least the closet jokes had stopped about a month ago.

Setting the box I was carrying down next to my bed, I walked over to my new roommate and planted a chaste kiss on his mouth. Behind me I could hear Yamato's chuckle and I couldn't keep the blush from tinting my cheeks, but today was a special occasion so I was little bolder than usual. It was the start of second year (I was also struggling to grasp that I had been here for almost eleven months, since I had arrived about a month after the first year started) and I was now moving in with Kouji. Roommate switches between years wasn't uncommon, since so many dropped out in that first twelve months, but since only mine and Daisuke's roommates had left to completely switch the arrangements like this was kind of special. Normally roommates were kept the same until around fifth year, when Squires could choose if they wanted a roommate or not, although those whose roommates had dropped out or been discharged were normally put together. Had it not been a request from the Prince I would have been booked with Daisuke instead of taking Takeru's place. And neither of them minded quite as much, since both of their partners were in different courses.

"You two aren't going to hide away in there to do that?" I heard Daisuke joke behind me, and without even turning around I knew exactly where he was pointing. Okay, so the closet jokes weren't _quite_ entirely out yet.

We immediately broke apart and looked in different directions. "Hey, can I just sit this on your bed?" the younger blonde asked. "My back still hurts from when I slipped in the mud a week ago so I don't particularly want to bend over. And it's not like you're going to be sleeping _here_, right?" My face flushed an even deeper red.

"O-okay," I mumbled, scurrying towards the door to help bring in the rest of my—well our, since Kouji was moving into this room, too—stuff; the sooner we got it all in the sooner I could get all of them _out_.

"You guys shouldn't be so harsh on them," Ken remarked flatly, floating a box of books with his magic. "I mean, it's not like they're going to be having sex or anything. Save the teasing for when they start doing more than just sleeping."

And that is when I remembered that no one was on my side at the moment, and when I seriously thought that my boyfriend actually _was_ going to hide away in the closet. Instead he almost knocked one of the few boxes that belonged to me out of my hands in his rush to get out the door. His eyes were downcast, but that didn't stop me from seeing that even his ears had turned red with embarrassment. Despite the fact that I wasn't in any better shape, I couldn't help but smile at how cute it was, and when he came back in and saw me still standing in the same spot with what he would later call a 'dumb look' on my face, he cracked a small smile of his own.

"Look, the lovebirds are smiling," Yamato had to coo, ruining the moment. I immediately went straight faced, and Kouji frowned as he hurried along. "Even though they always grumble about it, they actually like our teasing."

"Use your hands, not your mouth," my boyfriend grumbled, starting towards his bed again. He made it all of two steps before he nearly dropped his box on his toes.

"That's odd, isn't it normally the other way around?" Yamato asked sadistically, a truly evil grin on his face. "I know Taichi prefers mouth over hands, anyway." And that is why Kouji almost dropped the box on his feet and his face grew even brighter than it already was. I felt my own cheeks grow a little hotter, as well, and discreetly glancing around I was quite amused to see that we weren't the only ones embarrassed by Yamato's announcement. In fact, I think said blonde was only a few shades lighter red than I was, and his brother was covering his face with one hand (which most likely hid his own blush) and was slightly shaking his head (probably mentally berating his stupid brother). Taichi was grinning from ear to ear at his lover's bold remark and slung an arm over his shoulders, whispering something I couldn't see in the other Squire's ear. But based on the startled expression on Yamato's face and his return remark I had a pretty good idea what my brunette friend had suggested. Bringing a fist up and conking his boyfriend hard on the back of the head, Yamato shouted, "As if! You are going abstinent for a month for this!"

"But I wasn't even the one who said it," Taichi whined, figurative ears and tail drooping as he covered the forming lump on the back of his skull with both hands.

"It's no use arguing with him, Taichi," his little sister chuckled, bringing in one of the smaller boxes. She then turned to me and asked, "Where do you want this one, Takuya?"

Turning my attention away from my older friends, I motioned towards the corner near the closet where several other boxes had been piled. "Over there would be fine, thanks," I said, a thankful smile on my face. It would most likely need to be near the closet anyway. Judging by how easy it was for her to carry (and I'm not saying she's weak, it's just she isn't as strong as those of us who are training daily to fight in wars) it was most likely more of Kouji's clothes; sometimes I swore he had one outfit for every day of the year... well, month was more accurate.

"This is the last one," Takeru commented as he carried a large box through the door, sitting it down as gently as possible at the foot of my bed.

"Good, then you can all get out now," my boyfriend grumbled, sitting with his arms and legs crossed on his bed with his back to the door.

"I get the feeling someone wants us to leave," Daisuke stated, almost as if he was asking the rest of the people in the room if they were getting the same, strange feeling he was. And then I paled as he casually walked over to my Prince and _rested his fucking arm_ on Kouji's shoulders and _leaned_ onhim. I could _see_ the killer aura rising from him, and based on the fact that Yamato and I seemed to be racing to see who could get my brunette friend off of my ravenette boyfriend I wasn't the only one who could see it.

With me taking one arm and Yamato grabbing the other, it wasn't difficult to get Daisuke off of Kouji, and the poisonous air surrounding him started to dissipate. "Why don't I show you to the door?" I asked, a hint of nervousness in my voice as I pushed on his back.

Yamato was walking beside us, grabbing his own boyfriend's wrist as he passed by. "Yeah, let's give the two lovebirds some space," he added, chuckling lightly under his breath as I sighed. "And we should probably start knocking before we enter this room now, just in case we _interrupt_ something."

"We aren't to that point yet," I muttered under my breath for what had to be the fifth time that day. Ken taking over my role of steering the brunette out of the room, I said in a louder voice, "See you guys later!" as I closed the door.

Letting out a relieved sigh, I turned back around to Kouji. He had turned around and had his feet hanging off the end of his bed, a slight pink tint to his cheeks as he stared off just to the left of my face. "Kouichi should have defended us," he stated, both his tone and the fact that he no longer had a dark cloud hovering over his head revealing his mood had greatly improved. "At least a little bit."

A soft smile touching my lips, I walked over to the box he had nearly dropped on his toes. Stooping down to grab an item from it, I made sure to give him a quick peck on the lips as I stood. "Actually, as your brother he should be teasing us along with them," I stated quietly. "That's kind of the brother's job." I had been on the receiving end of more than a few jabs from my own brother, including ones similar to the 'we should knock before entering' one that Yamato had said not a minute before. Kouji didn't have a reply to that. Quietly walking back across the carpet, I barely made it back to the door in time.

The wood portal suddenly swung open and a spiky brunette head popped through. A large, cheesy grin on his face, Daisuke started, "Am I interruptin—Ow!" I hit him over the head with the book I had taken out of the box. "How did you know I was going to do that...?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head.

Folding my arms over my chest, I simply replied, "I've know you for almost a year now. If I honestly haven't gotten a hang on your antics yet then I would _really_ need to have my head examined."

It was only at that point that he realized just what book I had in my hand, and he pointed an incredulous, accusing finger in my direction. "How could you hit me with that one?" he asked, mock hurt in his voice before he turned back to the door. "Ken, he hit me with the present _you_ got him! Can you believe that?" I think I heard the young Mage chuckle, but Daisuke had already closed the door by that point so I wasn't entirely sure.

"Now that that is over…" I said, turning back to my ravenette. Closing the distance between us, I tried my best to hide my nervousness as I cupped his face in one hand as I slowly brought my mouth down to capture his. My other hand shook slightly as I ran it over the thong he used to tie his long hair at the back of his neck, accidentally on purpose snagging it on my pinky finger so that as I continued down the dark, silken strands it came with me. When I saw the agitated look in his blue eyes, though, I stopped and backed off a bit, breaking the kiss.

"Takuya, get back here…" he sighed, taking the leather thong the rest of the way out of his hair when I didn't move. Crooking one finger at me, I slowly closed the distance again, pressing our lips together hesitantly and running one hand through the silken strands of his long hair. After his eyes, which could hold so much emotion sometimes that they seemed like they might burst, I loved his hair next. It was always soft and in perfect order (although he'd tell me my hair was soft, too), while mine seemed to take 'bed head' as a daily challenge. But those thoughts were soon pushed from my mind when I felt his tongue brush against my lips. Swallowing the lump in my throat before I answered his call, I parted my lips to allow his tongue entrance. Problem is, (although previous experience told me to expect this) it didn't… Instead he flicked it just enough to touch the tip of my tongue, then withdrew back into his mouth, repeating the action several times when I didn't take the bait the first time. Swallowing the saliva that had suddenly become thick and dry, I slowly eased my tongue passed his parted lips. His mouth was becoming more familiar every time we did this, and just like every other time I explored his mouth he tasted sweet; he was a sugar addict, after all. Letting his hair fall to his shoulders, I placed both of my hands along the sides of his neck, my thumbs just in front of his ears, so I could tilt his head back a little farther and grant myself better access. My tongue slid around his, almost as if they were dancing, and drawing a quiet moan from my boyfriend. He wrapped both of his arms around my waist, and was in the process of pulling me closer when our bedroom door slammed open. In the next instant I somehow managed to get myself six feet away from him with my back against the wall and my butt connecting painfully with the floor.

"You just didn't wait long enough, Daisuke," Yamato said, a large, mischievous grin on his face.

"Come on, Takuya, you don't need to turn so red," the brunette I had previous smacked with a book grinned, appearing from behind Yamato. I just hid my face in my knees as they laughed. They might have no problems making out with their boyfriends in front of everyone, but I still wasn't quite that brave yet. And I didn't even have to look up to know that Kouji was glaring daggers at them.

* * *

"Kooooujiiii!" Izumi shouted from across the room, waving her arm exaggeratedly. I really loved the mornings that I _didn't_ have to hear that. She strode over in her ten centimeter heels and low cut, short black dress that didn't leave much to the imagination. And she was really starting to fill that dress in more. In the last year her chest had gained another size and she had gained more of an hourglass figure, and had I been interested in girls I might have found her beautiful. That is if she had worn a bit more decent clothing and had a much better personality. But now all of her viper venom attitude and C-cup breasts were pressed against _my_ Kouji's back as she slung her arms around his chest and rested her head on his shoulder. She planted a red lipstick kiss on his cheek, and that was almost enough to make me hurl.

Using the only defense he could without being completely rude and undignified, my ravenette turned his head as far as he could away from her, which also meant looking away from me since she had this peculiar habit of standing between us. Part of me wondered if she had figured out we were dating, but the more sensible part realized that she would not have kept quiet about it if she had, so she must just see me, as the best friend, her rival for Kouji's attention. "I can't eat with you hanging on me," he ground out with as much tact as he was able.

"Then how about I feed you?" she cooed seductively, reaching for his fork, her overgrown chest pressing more forcefully into his back.

"No thanks, I'm not hungry anymore," he growled, trying to use an elbow to dislodge her. It didn't work, and instead she just ran her manicured nails up his arm then down his chest. Leaning in to plant another kiss behind his ear, I had to look away. I hated seeing her clinging to my boyfriend, but I couldn't exactly tell her off either. At least, not without revealing some embarrassing and (mostly) private details about our relationship.

"Why don't you come with me while I slip into something more comfortable, hm?" she asked.

"Yeah, how about a straight jacket?" I murmured quiet enough that I didn't think she could hear.

"Did you say something, Kanbara?" she snapped, voice a whole lot more harsh now that she was talking to me and not trying to butter up to the Prince.

Flinching at being caught, I could see the smirk she wore out of the corner of my eye. "Only that the entire cafeteria can already see your behind so if you find something any more comfortable than that that you might as well just strip and hold up a sign saying 'free sex,'" I replied, quite pleased with myself for coming up with that on the spot.

Jaw dropping, she released Kouji and stood up as tall as she could. An angry glint in her eyes, she spat, "How dare you speak to me like that! Are you just going to let him say that, my love?"

I had figured he would do the tactful thing and just stay quiet, but to my surprise he replied with, "He was just voicing what we all were thinking." I think her jaw nearly hit the floor with that. She sputtered for a several seconds, trying to come up with some sweet lie or coy seduction that might bring things back in her favor, but Kouji beat her to the punch. "For the last time, Orimoto, I am not interested."

Dejected at the use of her last name, Izumi quickly fled the cafeteria, sobbing the entire way. The cause of her distress just simply went back to eating his meal. As much as I hoped that this was the last time she would invade our personal space, I knew without a doubt that this was not near enough to make her quit. And somewhere in the back of my mind, I think I was starting to worry about pissing her off…

With breakfast over we started filling out of the cafeteria towards our first classes of the day. Kouji and Takeru were several paces ahead of me talking about the work that had been given out the previous night, and Taichi trotted up to come up flush with me. Keeping his voice low so no passing ears might catch his conversation, he asked, "So has Kouji used any of the colorful language you taught us with you yet?" Not quite understanding what he was talking about, my only reply was a raised eyebrow. "You know, have you made him beg for it yet?"

"Why are bringing something like that up?" I asked, feeling the heat rise to my face.

"I was just wondering since it seemed to have backfired on Daisuke," he grinned. "Apparently when he tried to get Ken into begging for it, he was the one who got denied in the end and had to grovel. I wish I could have seen it." Snickering at his younger shadow's expense, he started, "Now Yamato on the othe—"

"Wait, you mean Daisuke and Ken have…?" I trailed off, unable to get my mouth to form the words.

"Well, they are adults**(1)** after all, and they've been going out for quite a while now," Taichi stated, obviously not embarrassed to talk about this kind of thing. "Now me on the other hand, I love it when Yamato starts begging for it. When he tells me to just fuck him already… it sends chills down my spine. You know how he told me I wasn't getting any for a month after we got you two moved into your new room? _He_ barely lasted a week. So, have you gotten him to beg yet?"

"H-how many times do I have to tell you guys we aren't at that stage yet?" I yelled as loud as I dared. Face burning, I stormed off down the hall and right between my blonde friend and my boyfriend. I didn't see it, but Taichi told me later that night that the latter of the two had stared after me for a second, before turning to face him with the most confused look on his face.

* * *

(Kouji's POV)

There were some things about Takuya that really irritated me. I really loved him, and that wasn't in question at all, but there were some things that I really wished he would work on. He knew what they were, too, without me even having to tell him. And this right here was one of those things.

For once, we were alone in our room. It was a Sunday, so there were no classes to have worn us out, and since we had spent a great deal of the day hanging out with the friends who were available none of them really saw a need to stalk us back to our room. After playing several games of Soccer with Shinya and Tomoki, Hikari finished her work and came to steal our young blonde. This left Daisuke with an empty room, since he had moved in with Takeru when we became Second Years, so he quickly took the opportunity to drag his lover away. Kouichi was worn out from goofing off all day so he retired to his room early, and Sora had a project she was working on that she needed to finish. That left only the most troublesome couple, who luckily were preoccupied the entire day. After playing a practical joke on one of his teachers, Taichi was assigned chores for the entire day, and Yamato was keeping him company. So, we were all alone, in our room, and Takuya wasn't doing anything more than holding my hand!

He really wasn't a very assertive person. I had to practically force him to be dominant, which kind of defeated the purpose. Something was obviously holding him back, and if I didn't get him to just get it out then I was afraid I was going to scream. "Damnit Takuya," I growled, squeezing his hand a little tighter, "Why won't you just kiss me already."

My sapphire eyes met his chocolate ones, and the apprehension was clearly visible behind that thin layer of glass. Small tremors wracked his body from nervousness, and I could feel them where our hands, and then our lips met. And it was just a simple contact. I could feel his love through it, even though it was small, but the passion was clouded by anxiety and he didn't even try to part my lips with his tongue.

Frustrated at his indecisiveness, I jolted up off the bed and several feet away from him. "Just spit it out already," I demanded. "What the hell is wrong with you? Every time we start to get a little bit intimate you shudder away from it? If I find out that the only reason you're with me is because I want you to be—"

"That's not it!" he shouted, cutting me off. I stopped my tirade as he pulled his knees up and wrapped his arms around them, resting his chin in the nook between them. "That's not it. I really, really want to be with you. I really do love you. It's just… All my life I was taught where my place was, how I had to act around those higher than me. Befriend you guys, all of you guys, has helped me break free of most of that. It's just… You're a Prince! _The _Prince. The next in line for the thrown. And I'm just a commoner, a nobody. So… is it really okay… like this? I mean, shouldn't you be the one pushing me down and doing what you want?"

Curled up in a ball like that, and looking so frail, it reminded me that my big strong Takuya was still just a human being like everyone else. This worry of his, it was deeply ingrained and not something small. His hesitation sure made sense when I put it in that light, and while it was a bit saddening I couldn't help but smile because I had learned one more thing about him. Sighing as I leaned back against the wall, I started, "And what makes you think this isn't what I want? My life hasn't really been too different from yours. I was taught where I stood, and how others should treat me. Like you said, I'm next in line for the thrown, which means I am to rule the kingdom. But the fact is, all I have ever done is what I'm told. My life was chosen for me. I may be _higher_ than everyone else, but I never had the freedom to do what I wanted. Being with you is the first choice I made on my own. And after having been taught to stand above everyone else, I like the idea of submitting to someone. I'm not being forced to do what you want, I'm choosing to do so. My choice, my _freedom_. Do you understand?" He had uncurled himself by now and was resting with his elbows on his legs. Nodding to me with a shy smile on his lips, I said, "Then show me."

He crossed the room in two swift steps, using one hand to press me into the wall while the other grabbed my chin. He forced his tongue into my mouth, teasing me by doing his best to keep his tongue just a millisecond ahead of my own. The hand on me chin released and fell down to my hip, also pressing it back into the wall while he leaned forward slightly. I didn't even try to fight it as he caged me, my hands slithering up his back to grasp at his shoulders. And then he started attacking my tongue and I moaned into his mouth.

The door swung open right next to us and the two people we weren't supposed to run into today filled the open portal. "Looks like someones are enjoying themselves," Taichi snickered. Takuya immediately broke away and brushed the non-existent dust from his clothing, pink starting to tint his cheeks. And we were back to square one… Giving me a knowing smile, I let out a relieved sigh. Okay, so it wasn't quite square one. All that he would need to build his confidence was a little time.

* * *

**(1)** Okay, to explain the adults thing. In older times, people (mostly girls) would marry at the age of fourteen and were at that age considered adults. This is set in a time similar to that, so when boys turn 14 they are then considered adults as well. Since they are all 15 or older (minus Shinya and Tomoki) they are all _technically_ adults.

As always, reviews are luffed appreciated.


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